US-Syrian 'Coordination' Against ISIS: Old Habits Die Hard
When the U.S. announces it's conducting airstrikes alongside 'Syrian forces' against ISIS, it's worth asking: which Syrian forces? The nuance often gets lost in translation, or rather, deliberate omission. This latest action in southern Syria, destroying alleged ISIS weapons caches, comes just as Washington considers easing sanctions, raising questions about the convenient timing of 'cooperation.'
(One might call it a peculiar sort of diplomatic dance). For years, U.S. policy in Syria has been a dizzying kaleidoscope of 'moderates,' 'rebels,' and 'terrorists,' often with the same groups swapping labels depending on geopolitical needs. The U.S. backed groups fighting Assad while simultaneously fighting ISIS, sometimes creating tactical vacuums that ISIS exploited. This isn't coordination; it
appears to be a pattern of selective engagement that ensures continuous U.S. presence, irrespective of who benefits most from the chaos. How many times must the U.S. 'fight' ISIS before we realize the real cache might be in the narrative itself?