Is the US withdrawal from Syria the next step for Biden?

Professor of International Relations at Cambridge University, Christopher Phillips, is likely to withdraw US forces from Syria after their withdrawal from Afghanistan, describing this as worrying Syrian Kurds.

Phillips explains - in

for the British "Middle East Eye" website

-

that the American withdrawal from Afghanistan, as well as the establishment of the recent "Aukus" alliance, clearly indicate that US President Joe Biden is setting the competition between the great powers - Especially containing China - a top priority of his foreign policy, and this means ending the entanglement in the legacy of the "eternal war" in Afghanistan, and possibly Syria.

He added that Biden's withdrawal from Afghanistan also indicates his preference to fight "terrorism" from a distance, as America does in Yemen, Pakistan and other places.

By extending this approach to Syria, Biden may conclude that he does not need soldiers on the ground to prevent the re-emergence of the Islamic State.

It's hard to trust Biden

The writer said that although the White House was quick to reassure its Kurdish allies in Syria that it would not carry out a withdrawal from Syria similar to the withdrawal from Afghanistan, it is difficult to trust Biden, who turned a blind eye to the killing of many Syrian Democratic fighters in Turkish attacks last month, and prioritized saving “lives.” The Americans" attacked his allies during the withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Phillips continues to make arguments for his prediction of a US withdrawal from Syria, saying that Biden was never very interested in Syria.

Although he approved the campaign against the Islamic State when he was former US Vice President Barack Obama, he opposed wider participation in that campaign.

The writer added that there are actual indications that Biden will take a softer stance with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, as he recently exempted the gas deal between Egypt, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon from Caesar's US sanctions.

However, the writer says, there are reasons to be optimistic about the SDF: Biden will be wary of further criticism of abandoning another ally, and the US presence in Syria is much less expensive than its presence in Afghanistan, so Biden faces less internal pressure to withdraw.