US to support SDF financially for long-term stability

A delegation of the Syrian Democratic Council (SDC) in Washington discussed the budget for supporting the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which is expected to be approved today, with members of the US Congress.   

Next week, the delegation will participate in a symposium held by the Washington Institute for Near East Studies.

The SDC delegation representing the Kurdish, Arab and Syriac communities in northeast Syria is visiting Washington, DC, on the margin of the UN General Assembly meetings that are being held in New York City.

The delegation includes Ilham Ahmad, the president of the SDC Executive Committee, Dr. Ghassan Youssef, co-chair of the Deir ez-Zor Civil Council, and Nazira Gawriya, the co-chair of the Syriac Union Party.

This week, members of the SDC delegation will hold meetings with members of the US Congress and House of Representatives from both the Republican and Democratic parties to inform them of the latest security, military and economic developments in northeast Syria.

The delegation met with members of the US Congress and discussed with them the budget for supporting the SDF (within the US Department of Defense budget for 2022), which is to be approved today, on Thursday.

The US Department of Defense has dedicated about $170 million to develop the SDF’s security and defense capabilities and to secure civilian needs that would ensure long-term stability in the region.

In its meeting with members of the Congress, the delegation stressed the need for continued US support for the SDF to continue fighting ISIS sleeper cells and to face the challenges accompanied the war against ISIS, such as the chaos and threat coming from Hawl Camp, which houses the families of ISIS fighters.

It is scheduled for the SDC delegation to participate in a symposium organized by the Washington Institute for Near East Studies on September 27.  The institute will host Ilham Ahmad and the rest of the delegation members.

David Pollock, a researcher at the Washington Institute who is organizing the symposium, said that he had contacted a number of Joe Biden administration officials, and he sensed an American desire to enable the SDF to establish stability in the region in preparation for a future stage.

“The US will withdraw from the region in the future. However, this withdrawal will not start before at least a year or six months,” he told North Press in a phone call.

Pollock said that he sensed extreme caution and diplomacy by the Joe Biden administration in dealing with the SDF issue and the crisis with Turkey over northeast Syria.

“Although Joe Biden’s administration believes in the importance of the alliance with the SDF and realizes the necessity of supporting the experiment and enabling it to continue combating terrorism and establishing stability in this part of Syria, Washington does not want to make statements that could worsen the relationship with Turkey.”

Pollock pointed out that the US-Turkish relationship will not suddenly end, no matter how troubling the Turkish behavior is to Washington.

He stated that “It is necessary for the SDC to work on building confidence and balanced diplomatic relations with neighboring countries, especially during this important transitional phase in which the SDF still enjoys full American support.”



PUKmedia / North Press Agency