How the Kurds Gained, Then Lost, a Syrian Enclave
How the Kurds Gained, Then Lost, a Syrian Enclave by Jared Malsin – Wall Street Journal
President Trump this month ordered most U.S. troops to leave Syria, paving the way for a Turkish military operation against Kurdish-led militias that had helped the U.S. in the fight against Islamic State.
The decision was a turning point in the nearly nine-year-old Syrian crisis, ending a period in which U.S. troops and air power protected a Kurdish-ruled enclave that spanned nearly a third of the country.
The ensuing fighting has killed more than 400 people and displaced nearly 180,000 others. It also has redrawn the lines of the Syrian conflict, disrupting U.S.-backed operations against Islamic State and expanding the influence of Russia and the Syrian regime.
The pullout also unsettled American allies across the wider Middle East and the world as U.S. partners wrestle with Mr. Trump’s stated desire to scale back the U.S. role in the region…
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