Inconsistency in the US Foreign Policy towards Syrian Kurdistan

Abstract

This study attempts to explain the US policy towards Syrian Kurds and highlight the key reasons behind establishing of military relations between Kurds and US. Further, it endeavors to explore the fact that why the US policy towards Syria Kurds is unstable and why Trump administration allowed Turkey to attack Kurdish autonomous region in Syria. In reality, the emergence of relations between Kurds and US backed to 2014, especially when ISIS controlled vast majority of Syria and Iraq territory and posed serious threat to the US security interests in Iraq and region. In this regards, the US saw the Kurdish forces as a trusted partner to confront ISIS in Syria. In particular, the Syrian armed groups did not want to fight ISIS and even some of them had relations with ISIS.

However, despite the US military support to the Kurds, but politically US has a contradiction and unstable policy toward Kurds in Syria and it does not have any intention or agenda to support autonomous region or federal system for Kurds. This has been the key reasons behind Trump attempts to withdrawal its troops from Syria without taking into consideration the future of the Kurds there and allowed Turkey to attack Kurds. In fact, Turkey pressures, US willingness to withdrawal its troops form Middle East and defeating ISIS might push US to completely withdrawal all forces and abandon the Kurds in Syria.