Exit strategy: Why should Washington leave Syria

Shafaq News/ Syria’s civil war ended abruptly in December as Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) ousted President Bashar Al-Assad, bringing his family's six-decade rule to a swift collapse. With HTS leader Ahmed Al-Sharaa already at the helm of a transitional government, uncertainty looms over his ability to unify the country and curb extremist elements.

According to a report by the US magazine Foreign Affairs, Washington has supported a de facto autonomous administration in northeast Syria since 2014, primarily composed of Kurdish factions led by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which fought against Syrian government forces, Turkiye, Turkish-backed armed groups, and factions linked to Al-Qaeda and ISIS.

At the same time, the US maintains approximately 2,000 troops and contractors at around 12 operational points and small bases in eastern Syria to support SDF efforts in eliminating ISIS and deterring Turkish attacks.

Despite this support, ISIS remains active in Syria. However, with the Al-Assad regime no longer in power, Washington could opt to work with a more influential and effective partner in the fight against ISIS: the new Syrian government in Damascus, the report added.

The report also urged Washington to assist the Damascus government in stabilizing Syria by easing sanctions. Without new investments, Syria will remain incapable of fully defeating ISIS—just as the weakened Al-Assad government failed to do between 2017 and 2024.

While this idea may seem unusual—given Washington's designation of HTS as a terrorist organization—the Foreign Affairs report argued that such classifications have not prevented US cooperation with the People’s Protection Units (YPG), a Kurdish faction affiliated with the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which the US also considers a terrorist group.

HTS leader Ahmed Al-Sharaa insists that the group has changed and distanced itself from jihadist organizations. However, many in Washington remain skeptical that HTS has genuinely abandoned terrorism or its hardline ideological worldview, the report stated. It remains uncertain how Al-Sharaa, as Syria’s transitional president, would unify a divided nation and restrain the more radical elements within HTS.