U.S. Fight with ISIS Losing Kurdish Forces Due to Turkish Attack

The United States have been partnering up with the Syrian Democratic Forces in its global campaign to combat and hunt down the remaining forces of Islamic State in Syria. However, this effort has been significantly weakened as the Kurdish forces have been pulled away by the Turkish assault in northern Syria.

Turkey, in attempt to suppress its internal insurgences, which Turkey suspects to be incited by Syrian Kurdish influences, have launched an attack in Afrin in northern Syria. In response, the Kurdish fights, who made up the majority and dominant force of the Syrian Democratic forces, have been drawn away to defend Afrin.

The loss of the Kurdish fighters have led to much wariness in American military officials, as they fear that this will result in a stall in their offensive operations and give chances for foreign fighter to escape during this window. The SDF, led by the Kurdish troops, spearheaded the operation last fall in routing the IS from Raqqa, its self-proclaimed headquarters. They were also significant in chasing insurgents, who had fled along the Euphrates River Valley all the way to the Iraqi border.

Without the Kurdish fighters, Syrian Arab fighters have become the main driving force of the SDF. However, they do not display the same organization and military prowess as the Kurds’ had in the past. The Arab forces and their American military advisers, in response to the loss of the Kurds, have been forced to stop their operations and taken up a more defensive position. General Joseph L. Votel, the head of the United States Central Command told the House Armed Services Committee: “And we need them to finish this – to finish this fight”, during congressional testimony on Tuesday.

This change in operation has many repercussions. First, it poses a potential threat in slowing the progress of the Islamic State fighters, who are hiding along the Euphrates River or in deserts nearby. Second, it could let foreign fighters to flee in to Western Syria and even to Turkey or Jordan. From there they could potentially return to Europe or Africa to further disturb peace and political stability. In fact, thousands of foreign fighters have already fled to the south and west.

Jennifer Cafarella, a senior intelligence planner with the Institute for the Study of War in Washington, has expressed her concern that this campaign is at great risk because of the withdrawal of Kurdish troops. She also worried that the remaining SDF is not capable to clear remaining areas along the river held by ISIS.

President Trump has regarded this campaign as one of his major accomplishments regarding national security, yet this obstacle will potentially lead to the fall of this temporary triumph. Last week, Mr. Trump  said that ISIS land has been mostly reclaimed and recaptured, yet with this turn of events we are not sure if this situation will stay intact. While the administration have attempted to play down the role of Kurdish troops in this anti-ISIS effort, it has now come to acknowledge the immense loss that could potentially be triggered from this turn of events.

The White House national security adviser have met with Turkish officials in the past few days, discussing the conflicts between Kurdish militia and Turkish troops. US has expressed its hope for the clashes to end and contain the fighting from spreading to other parts of Syria.

However, it’s important to consider that for the Kurdish forces, their fight against Turkish troops is an act to defend their friends, kins and families in Afrin, which they naturally prioritize over the American operation against the Islamic State. They have chosen to fight for their land instead of fighting to liberate others lands, a decision that US authorities should try to understand.

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