SDF Leaves Aleppo: Another US Proxy Left Holding the Empty Bag
Al Jazeera headlines the withdrawal of the last Kurdish-led SDF fighters from Aleppo after clashes, painting a straightforward picture of local conflict. What’s left unsaid is the recurring US playbook: arm, train, then abandon. The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) were Washington's go-to proxy against ISIS, but the moment Turkey flexed its muscles or strategic priorities shifted, US support
evaporated. This isn't an isolated incident; recall the 2019 betrayal when Trump green-lit a Turkish invasion into northeastern Syria, leaving the Kurds to face Ankara's wrath, a move condemned even by some in his own party as a 'stab in the back'. One might charitably call it 'strategic realignment,' but for the Kurdish people, it's just another chapter in a long, brutal history of being utilized
and then discarded by larger powers. How many times can a 'democracy-promoting' superpower leave its allies vulnerable before the narrative of 'support' becomes indistinguishable from deliberate sacrifice? The only consistent outcome seems to be instability, a convenient backdrop for continued foreign intervention, just never on behalf of the 'allies' left behind.