James Jeffrey is chair of the Middle East program at the Wilson Center. He served as U.S. ambassador to Iraq, Turkey, and Albania; special envoy to Syria; and deputy national security advisor.
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James Jeffrey
A member of the Syrian Democratic Forces and a U.S. soldier stand beside each other looking out over a field with smoke in the distance.
A member of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), made up of an alliance of Arab and Kurdish fighters, monitors in the town of Tabqa, about 55 kilometres (35 miles) west of Raqa city, on April 30, 2017, as they advance in their battle for the Islamic State group's stronghold.
US-backed fighters have captured 80 percent of Syria's Tabqa from the Islamic State group, a monitor said on May 1, a week after they first entered the town. / AFP PHOTO / DELIL SOULEIMAN (Photo credit should read DELIL SOULEIMAN/AFP/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - FEBRUARY 1: (AFP OUT) Rex Tillerson attends a ceremony at which he was sworn in as 69th U.S. secretary of state in the Oval Office of the White House on February 1, 2017 in Washington, DC. Tillerson was confirmed by the U.S. Senate earlier in the day in a 56-43 vote. (Photo by Michael Reynolds-Pool/Getty Images)