SDF Finds 'Friend' in Damascus After US 'Withdrawal' Strategy
The 'national army' here is, of course, Assad's, a regime the US government has spent over a decade sanctioning and often vowing to depose. Suddenly, after years of Washington arming and supporting the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) as a crucial anti-ISIS proxy—and then strategically looking the other way as Turkey invaded their territory—the SDF finds itself in a tight spot. Their 'agreement'
with Damascus looks less like strategic alignment and more like survival for a force left out to dry by its fickle patrons. One might charitably call this 'adaptive diplomacy,' but for those on the ground, it's the bitter reality of US foreign policy in action: find a proxy, arm them, promise them support, then pivot when geopolitical winds shift, leaving them to fend for themselves against
regional powers, including, ironically, their former enemies. The 'commander says' it himself, this merger is a direct response to Turkish aggression. How many times does the US 'withdraw' from a region before its allies stop believing the promises?