American Withdrawal: The View from Manbij

Earlier this month, as the Trump Administration announced that the United States would withdraw its troops from northern Syria, Turkey and Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army factions launched an assault on the area, attacking the border towns of Tal Abyad and Ras al-Ein. Subsequently, the Syrian Democratic Forces, the predominantly Kurdish militia that had been backed by the U.S. since 2015, looked to an alternative partner that would protect them from Turkish forces…