ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The chairman of the United States House of Representatives’ Foreign Affairs Committee said he wants to see the establishment of an independent Kurdish region within Syria in return for their fight against the Islamic State (ISIS).
“We want to make sure that the Kurds are enabled to do what they have done very very well, which is stand up and fight. They have done an incredible job fighting ISIS, been an incredible partner on that front. And the biggest support that I want to see for Kurds is an independent Kurdistan stood up as part of the landmass that is Syria,” Florida Republican Congressman Brian Mast told Rudaw on Thursday.
The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) are the main ally of the global coalition against ISIS in Syria and led the fight on the ground to territorially defeat the group.
The US boosted the number of its troops in Syria from 900 to around 2,000 after a coalition of rebels led by the Islamist Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) ousted the Bashar al-Assad regime last December. Washington has explained the surge in numbers as a temporary measure to prevent ISIS from regaining a foothold.
Kurds have called on Washington to maintain troops in the SDF-held northeast Syria (Rojava) as it continues to battle ISIS, defend against a Turkish-led assault, and negotiate its future with the new authorities in Damascus.
Trump said earlier this year that he will make a decision about American troops in Syria, but did not indicate when. He denied previously stating that he would pull troops out of the country.
Senator Chris Van Hollen said last month that Trump would make a "mistake" if he decides to withdraw troops from Rojava, adding that Kurds are essential to prevent the resurgence of ISIS.
