Special Report: U.S. Kurdish Policy in Syria
- Genocide Watch
- 7 days ago
- 2 min read
By Michał Jagielski
Senior Middle East and Iran Analyst
Genocide Watch
A decade after the establishment of CJTF-OIR, it appears that the alliance between the U.S. and the SDF is at an end. Initially, the Kurdish-led forces were the most reliable ally for Washington’s multilayered Syrian policy aimed at countering ISIS and the growing influence of Moscow and Tehran. Years-long exposure to U.S. weaponry and training have shaped DAANES and SDF into competent entities, capable of governing diverse territories, although not without occasional sectarian favoritism.
The U.S.' reliance on its Kurdish allies and the costs they had to pay in their fight against ISIS have, in the eyes of many, warranted a seat at the negotiating table for the Kurds. Yet the recent changes in Syria’s domestic situation have revealed that U.S. policy has been utilitarian rather than ideological.
The policy towards the Kurds and their quest for increased autonomy has been motivated by strategic interests. The U.S. has supported the Kurds in their goals when those goals served Washington’s political objectives. This attitude has created a cycle of short-term empowerment of the Kurds, followed by periods of instability, repression, and diminishing autonomy.
That is not to say that U.S. policy in the region is opaque. On the contrary, the objectives have been largely coherent. What changed is not the underlying reasoning behind the policy, but the preferred tools by which it is to be achieved.
When compared to how the Kurds were treated under the Assad regime, their situation has improved because of U.S. support. Al-Sharaa’s guarantees offered to the Kurds would have been unimaginable 15 years ago.
Nevertheless, a large portion of the Kurdish community in Syria and its leadership expected more, believing that the alliance with the U.S. would bring about a level of lasting autonomy. The example of the SDF has the potential to put future alliances between regional ethnic minorities and the U.S. in doubt.
Full report:
