The Trump administration's hasty withdrawal abandons the Kurdish allies who sacrificed thousands in the fight against ISIS alongside American forces. This retreat mid-transition creates dangerous security vacuums that extremist groups will exploit, especially as the IS is already claiming new attacks. America's credibility suffers when it betrays loyal allies like the Kurds, who are now on their own again, including the fight against Turkish-backed opposition factions.

While the US presents its pullout as a smart move, arguing that it alone cannot be responsible for Syria's security, it is the US, through the proxy war it led against Assad, that is responsible for the miserable security situation in the first place. Washington is now not only courting the jihadists it deployed against Assad in the name of democracy, but the US military illegally occupies oil and agriculturally rich land in Syria. Now the US is leaving the theater of yet another covert war.