On Sunday, President Trump announced plans to pull American forces back from Syria’s northern border. It’s seen as a tacit greenlight for a Turkish military intervention in the region. It would likely trigger a clash between the Turks and Kurdish fighters there.
The Kurdish forces, known as the YPG, have been a big American ally in the fight against ISIS, but Turkey sees the group as a terrorist affiliate. For the U.S., it’s a huge foreign policy shift from its historic support for the Kurds.
Experts in the region and defense officials have come out against the move, saying it will allow ISIS to regain ground in the war-torn country.