It is a widely accepted fact that the Kurds of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) are the coalition’s strongest allies on the ground fighting against Daesh/ISIS. Kurdish forces and their allies have liberated large swaths of northeastern Syria from Daesh (236 villages, 2,000 sq mi). However, the US has failed to equip these fighters as though they are direct allies of the coalition. Support from the Obama administration has been tepid at best. But with the dawning of the Trump presidency, it is important to assert the importance of our Kurdish and Arab allies.
SDF troops in eastern Raqqa
Kurdish news agency ARA (Independent Press Agency) has already caught wind (through CNN) of the Pentagon’s suggestions to the new administration to start planning a more robust on-the-ground offensive against Daesh with the SDF. CNN writer Barbara Starr stated in her January 17th article: “…the Pentagon could put several brigade-sized combat teams on the ground, each team perhaps as many as 4,000 troops.”
A few months ago the Brookings Institute released a report on the effects of tepid US support for vetted FSA (Free Syrian Army) groups. This report suggested that the US’s lack of commitment to the FSA ultimately lessened their ability to stave off the Assad regime and reliance on Islamist groups with ties to Al Qaeda such as Jabhat Fattah al-Sham (formerly known as Jabhat al-Nusra).
The military and ideological strength of the Islamists, amidst the lack of Western support, has forced factions of the FSA to work with these groups despite differences in their goals and ideologies. This has caused media coverage of FSA actions to become very confusing to navigate for those who are looking for a good versus evil narrative of the conflict. Of course, there was no such narrative to begin with.
During the last month of the fight for Aleppo, many pro-Assad/pro-Russian sources pointed towards the FSA’s collusion with Islamists as a reason to sympathize with the regime’s efforts to “liberate” the ancient city from so-called terrorists. The rebels lost the city to the Assad regime where Russian Military Police are carrying out damage control.
Russian Military Police in Aleppo
In the case of the SDF, the US has another chance to arm their allies in a way that shows real commitment. Cooperation, arming, and training SDF-vetted fighters along with deploying American troops onto SDF battlefronts would cause Turkey to reevaluate their policies towards Syrian Kurds and the priorities of OES (Operation Euphrates Shield). OES and the SDF fight a two-front war with Daesh and one another. But this causes in-fighting between FSA brigades that work with both groups. In a move that could
Pro-Turkey Syrian Rebels like those released from Afrin on Saturday.
possibly cater to easing tensions between pro-Turkey FSA brigades and the SDF, Jaysh al-Thuwar, an FSA affiliated SDF member in northeastern Syria, announced the release of 74 Turkey-backed FSA rebels on January 22.
The SDF, made up of Kurdish and FSA brigades currently has about 50,000 fighters fighting mainly against Daesh, though there are periodic clashes with OES. Most of these clashes are sparked by offensive moves made by the Turkish coalition. Multiple US brigades of 4,000 could provide much-needed holding-power in the already liberated areas. Placing American troops west of the Euphrates river near Manbij and al-Arimah on the front with OES could also send a strong message to Turkey that their main objective as a coalition and NATO member is to defeat Daesh. Despite SDF’s claims that they refuse to let Turkey participate in the liberation of Raqqa, perhaps cooperation on other fronts would benefit both parties.
