The last Islamic State stronghold was captured by the Syrian Kurdish forces of Syrian Defense Forces (SDF) in Baghouz and the Kurds are worried about their destiny as the U.S. plans to pull out its forces from Syria and both Turkey and the Syrian government have threatened to attack the Kurdish forces.

The author of Rules for Rebels: The Science of Victory in Militant History, Dr. Abrahms stated that “the U.S.-Kurdish alliance in Syria was driven by the mutual strategic goal of fighting IS. Now that IS has been badly hurt as an organization, the logic of cooperation from the U.S. perspective has declined. In general, the Kurds have strong sympathy among Americans. But the support was based less on sympathy than on the strategic goal of crushing IS. Because of the successes against IS, Trump favors withdrawing most U.S. troops from Syria. That said, I believe that many opinion-makers in Washington do not want Turkey to target the Kurds in Syria.”

Dr. Abrahms whose book is especially relevant to Kurds because it provides the secret for how aggrieved groups can achieve their political goals further stressed in the interview that “some believe the U.S. has an obligation to deter Turkey from harming our Kurdish allies. For this reason, there is a sentiment to continue working with the Kurds in Syria even though the original strategic rationale has changed. Strong U.S.-Kurdish ties are also seen as important for keeping IS down.”

Reporter’s code: 50101