Following the administration’s December 2018 announcement that U.S. forces would withdraw from Syria, CNA experts Michael Kofman and David Wallsh discuss how this will affect the state of play between U.S. allies and adversaries in the region. They question whether the U.S. has in fact defeated ISIS in Syria, and discuss how the withdrawal may leave the area vulnerable to a resurgence and to ongoing conflict between Turkey and the Kurdish fighters, both allies of the U.S. Kofman posits that the withdrawal will further Russian interests, while Wallsh adds that it may also play a role in a war of attrition between Iran and Israel.

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