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Trump Wants U.S. Troops to Guard Syria’s Oil. The Kurds May Not Welcome Them.

After capitulating to U.S. demands for years, Syrian Kurdish leader Ilham Ahmed has some conditions of her own.

By , a staff writer at Foreign Policy from 2018-2020.
Ilham Ahmad, the president of the executive committee of the Syrian Democratic Council, attends a press conference at the European Parliament in Brussels on Oct. 10.
Ilham Ahmad, the president of the executive committee of the Syrian Democratic Council, attends a press conference at the European Parliament in Brussels on Oct. 10.
Ilham Ahmad, the president of the executive committee of the Syrian Democratic Council, attends a press conference at the European Parliament in Brussels on Oct. 10. KENZO TRIBOUILLARD/AFP via Getty Images

The Syrian Kurds lost 11,000 fighters in the U.S.-led campaign to defeat the Islamic State. They agreed not to negotiate with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime. And in the weeks leading up to Turkey’s Oct. 9 invasion of northern Syria, they dismantled their defenses along the Turkish border. 

Lara Seligman was a staff writer at Foreign Policy from 2018-2020. Twitter: @laraseligman

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