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Klingon Deep State and DoD divided over Kurdish fighters in Syria
[Defense One] The end game has arrived. In Syria, the U.S.-backed campaign to retake Raqqa from the Islamic State is nearing its final chapter. And yet the rifts inside the United States government about what to do next, as ISIS falls, are as evident in President Donald Trump’s administration as they were many months ago in Obama’s. The questions about the long-term have yet to be answered.

Just take two fronts: America’s relationship with the Syrian Kurds who are leading the grinding fight against ISIS, and the question of Iran after ISIS.

Already there is a gap between the State Department and U.S.-led forces fighting the war in Syria. Parts of the State Department -- particularly U.S. diplomats based in Turkey -- share the Turkish government’s concerns about U.S. forces aligning with Syrian Kurds and have been worried about U.S. plans to have Syrian Kurds take part in whatever stabilization efforts come next. Meanwhile, in the eyes of those in uniform inside Syria with an up-close view of the battle, the Syrian Kurds are the best fighting force America has in country. They’re also most able to access and assist with Syria’s humanitarian crisis and post-conflict stabilization.

The divide is driven by the differing mandates facing State and the Pentagon. The State Department is working to keep NATO ally Turkey in dialog and on board. The Pentagon is charged with fighting ISIS with local forces and without tackling the Assad regime.

This means that Trump’s State Department can’t fully embrace a stabilization plan in Raqqa (much less negotiate one with Russia) so long as the Syrian Kurds remain both a central part of it and aligned with the PKK, or Kurdistan Workers’ Party, which Turkey considers to be a terrorist separatist group. That’s a challenge. In April, a group called the Raqqa Civilian Council was established to return order and forge a durable peace after the defeat of ISIS. It was founded and is led by Kurdish and Arab allies of America’s anti-ISIS coalition.
Posted by: Besoeker 2017-07-20
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=493152