DragonI

Syria’s Kurds, Feeling Betrayed by the U.S., Ask Assad Government for Protection

Other powers in Syria have begun positioning themselves to take advantage of the vacuum left by a U.S. withdrawal.

www.nytimes.com

• Winners: Russia, Iran, Syria, Turkey #tRUmpRUssia  #RussiaFIRST
• Losers: America allies fighting Islamic Terrorism. Future alliances DOA  #NatSec #NationalSecurity  #AmericaLAST

The Kurdish militias are regarded by Turkey as dangerous, autonomy-minded insurgents. The United States regards them as valuable partners in helping rout Islamic State extremists from Syria — the original purpose of the American military deployment four years ago.

The Kurdish-led militias control about one-quarter of Syria’s territory, including valuable agricultural land and oil reserves in the north and east of the country.

Kurdish control is opposed not only by the Turks, but also by the government of Mr. Assad as well as its Russian and Iranian backers, who want the territory to fall back under the control of Damascus.

Russia would like to see Mr. Assad regain control of Syria’s oil reserves to help finance the country’s reconstruction, while Iran wants to geographically connect forces it supports in Syria and Lebanon with those in Iraq.

“An American withdrawal from Syria is the equivalent of handing Syria on a silver plate to Iran and its militias,” said Muhannad al-Talaa, the commander of an Arab militia near the United States military base at al-Tanf, near the Iraqi border. “If the U.S. withdraws and we are forced to leave, Iran will have a steady supplies route through Iraq to its militias and Hezbollah in Syria.”

• Russian naval base in Tartus
• Russian air base in Palmyra
• Secret Russian spy bases
• Russian weapons sales
• Syria’s air defence with Russian equipment