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RAS History & PhilologyИзвестия Российской Академии наук. Серия литературы и языка Izvestiia Rossiiskoi akademii nauk. Seriia literatury i iazyka

  • ISSN (Print) 1605-7880
  • ISSN (Online) 2413-7715

USA and Kurds: Relations in the Civil War in Syria

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PII
S207054760005315-3-
DOI
10.18254/S207054760005315-3
Publication type
Article
Status
Published
Authors
Andrey Yevseenko
Volume/ Edition
Volume / Special Issue
Pages
0
Abstract

Syrian Kurds have become the U.S. main allies in the war with the Islamic State in Syria. Its became possible due to White House political maneuvering in terms of U.S.-Turkish relations and old confrontation between Turkey and the Syrian Kurds. The United States was forced to solve two equally important tasks: not to enter into conflict with a longtime NATO ally and defeat the terrorists of the "Islamic State" on the territory of Syria. The Obama administration didn’t seek to resolve the contradictions between the Turks and Syrian Kurds community. Its strategic goal was to defeat the IS. As a result, the remaining Turkish-Kurdish conflict has harmed the US strategy in the fight against jihadists and maintained a confrontation that can be used by terrorists to restore “Islamic State” influence. Donald Trump's policy in the War on terrorism also has a strategic flaw. It’s not a question of his separate decision on the withdrawal of U.S. troops from the territory of the Syrian Kurds. They still remain a non-state actor. Therefore, the removal of them wouldn’t bear the strategic damage to the reputation of the United States. However, the discovered presidential reluctance to weigh decisions together with the military, diplomats and intelligence officers contains a serious threat for U.S. influence in the world. Trump administration’s foreign policy is hard to predict. In the absence of large program speeches of the 45th President of the United States, in terms of ignoring the decision-making mechanisms of foreign policy, in the absence of his strategic thinking, a situation of general uncertainty in the US foreign policy is created. Cooperation with the United States could, overnight, lead to the situation when yesterday’s allies would be on opposite sides for completely unexpected reasons. Such uncertainty, cultivated by Trump, can repel even the oldest and most reliable allies from the USA, and not only across the Middle East.

Keywords
U.S. foreign policy, U.S.- Kurdish relations, Islamic State, Kurds, War on terrorism, Syrian civil war, Bashar Assad, Barack Obama, Donald Trump, Recep Erdoğan
Date of publication
30.05.2019
Year of publication
2019
Number of purchasers
94
Views
5155

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