by Jim Hanson
The Oil Fields in the Kurdish Region and Much of the Land Is the Next Target of the Al-Sharaa Government
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A soldier with the Syrian Democratic Forces trains in a live-fire exercise with U.S. troops. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Trenton Pallone |
Ahmed al-Sharaa, formerly known by his jihadist moniker Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, is the titular head of Syria. He trimmed his beard and put on a suit and has given a lot of lip service about being reformed and moderate. But he has allowed the Syrian Army, largely commanded by other “former” jihadists, to carry out ethnic cleansing of the minority populations—and they now seem to be conducting a full-on seizure of much of the Kurdish regions.
The Trump administration’s strategy in using the Gulf States and Turkey to try to keep al-Sharaa under control is not working; thus far, they don’t seem to be holding up their end of the bargain.
There have been major slaughters of basically all the minority groups in Syria, and now it looks like the oil fields in the Kurdish region and much of the land is the next target.
The Trump administration’s strategy in using the Gulf States and Turkey to try to keep al-Sharaa under control is not working.
This comes while al-Sharaa was reading a proclamation saying how the Kurds can retain their language and culture and fully integrate into the new Syria. This benevolent gesture also includes a requirement they put down their weapons, which is seen by the Kurds, and many others, as a pathway to total submission.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan of Turkey is one supposed brake on the actions of the Syrian Transitional Government, but it appears this latest excursion has his approval and maybe even active support. When al-Sharaa was still al-Jolani, Turkey was a main supporter and supplier of his Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, a former Al Qaeda affiliate. It now seems that Erdoğan is calling in his marker and the Kurds are in the way.
Our sources in the country report that this attack is going well beyond any agreements and assurances al-Sharaa has given to the United States:
“Damascus has presented the Syrian Democratic Forces with a new plan that includes specific conditions, among them integrating its forces as individuals into the Syrian army and handing over areas with an Arab majority east of the Euphrates. The Syrian Democratic Forces has not responded yet.
“The United States has proposed the Euphrates River as a separating boundary between the Syrian army and the Syrian Democratic Forces, and a return to negotiations to implement their March 10, 2025, agreement. Damascus says that developments on the ground and the presidential decree on Kurdish rights have gone beyond that agreement.”
U.S. officials need to rein in al-Sharaa and weigh his pleasant platitudes against the violent slaughters his forces are committing.
According to Reuters, a January 17, 2026, meeting between U.S. envoy Tom Barrack and Kurdish officials “produced no roadmap to a ceasefire.” Trump’s policy is that the people and powers in the region need to take responsibility for the problems in their neighborhood. Erdoğan seems to be doing that, but not in a way that is healthy for the minority populations in the path of his ambitions to be a Neo-Ottoman Padishah.
The Gulf States asked for Trump to recognize and meet with al-Sharaa and he obliged. But there were assurances that this largesse would be rewarded with the moderation that was the former al-Jolani’s new brand. Now, U.S. officials need to rein in al-Sharaa and weigh his pleasant platitudes against the violent slaughters his forces are committing against the people he rules. We are rapidly becoming the frog looking shocked that the sweet-talking scorpion buried his stinger in our back.
Jim Hanson is Chief Editor for the Middle East Forum. He previously served in U.S.
Army Special Forces and conducted counterterrorism, counterinsurgency
and foreign internal defense operations in more than two dozen
countries. He is the author of several books including Winning the Second Civil War - Without Firing a Shot and Cut Down the Black Flag - A Plan to Defeat ISIS.
Source: https://www.meforum.org/mef-observer/syria-puts-a-boot-on-the-neck-of-the-kurds
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