In this episode, Calvin Wilder details the current state of military cooperation between the SDF and the regime and shows how this security partnership will not necessarily translate to a political understanding between AANES and the regime. Turkey is intensifying its artillery and drone strikes against military and civilian targets in regions of Syria controlled by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and their civilian counterpart, the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES). With the United States remaining muted in its response to this pressure, the SDF is increasingly relying on the Assad regime for security support.