by International Crisis Group What’s new? President Trump’s surprise decision to withdraw U.S. troops from Syria followed previous warnings that he justified their presence only as part of the campaign to defeat the Islamic State (ISIS). Trump said the mission… Continue Reading
by Walter Posch Donald Trump’s decision to order U.S. troops to leave Syria comes as a surprise. A year ago, experts would have counted the days until the Pentagon quit its unnatural alliance with the Syrian branch of the PKK—a… Continue Reading
by Mitchell Plitnick When Donald Trump announced that he was immediately removing all U.S. troops from Eastern Syria, I was surprised by the reaction. There was near glee in anti-war corridors. The initial response is understandable; the United States should… Continue Reading
by Paul Iddon Kurds in Syria are currently negotiating their future with the Syrian regime in Damascus. They want the decentralisation and democratisation of Syria, which will ensure their own continued self-rule. While it’s unlikely they will achieve such an ambitious… Continue Reading
by Robert Olson This is a question asked by Metin Gurcan in Al-Monitor on August 31. Gurcan proffers several possible scenarios as to what Turkey’s policies toward the Democratic Union Party (PYD) and its armed wing, the People’s Protection Units… Continue Reading