Syria's Kurds Should Seek a More Trusted Ally Than Trump's U.S.

Serwan Zangana | Exclusive to iKurd.net

The Kurds in Syria should seek another ally that is more trusted than President Trump’s U.S

It is the same calculation with the U.S President Donald Trump, as it was his first-term presidency in 2016. He dishonored the Kurds in Syria and devalued the Kurdish fighters, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a major U.S ally in fighting the Islamic State (ISIS) in Syria.

Trump abandoned the Kurds once in 2019, and despite their sacrifices as they took the front line ahead of the U.S troops to fight (ISIS), Trump simply undermined the critical situation of the Kurds under Turkey’s attacks and other groups, including radical Muslims.

After Trump embraced the former leader of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, an Al-Qaeda-affiliated group, Ahmad al-Sharaa, and empowered him in his presidency, the Kurds returned to the start line of the unwilling marathon, which means fighting the radical Islam formed in a government recognized by the U.S. Trusting President Trump to support the Kurds in northeastern Syria has been questionable, and to him, there are no long-term allies.

Trump’s agenda in Syria poses a great threat to the Kurds, and American lawmakers have been silent on Aleppo’s Sheikh Maqsoud and al-Ashrafieh attacks by the Syrian regime’s armed forces and militias.

Trump entered the race for the presidency with the slogan of “Make America Great Again.” But being president for nearly 11 months, U.S. domestic issues have increased, and the political conflict between the Democratic and Republican parties has reached its peak; no greatness on the American horizon yet.

Apparently, the Kurdish struggle to obtain ethnic rights and political identity did not end with the collapse of Bashar al-Assad’s regime, and there is a long way for the Kurds to reach the finish line. From al-Assad’s chauvinism to al-Sharaa’s Islamism, the terror against the Kurds is continuing with Turkey vowing its support for the Syrian regime. Al-Sharaa’s regime is now serving the Turkish agenda against the Kurds in Turkey while the U.S watches.

In the past, Trump did not consider Turkey’s attack on the Kurds as a major issue and a humanitarian crisis in the area, as in 2019, he absurdly resembled the fight between Turkey and the (SDF) to children fighting: “Sometimes you have to let them fight. It’s like two kids in a lot, you got to let them fight and then you pull them apart,” Trump said.

Al-Sharaa has brought a new era of terror to Syria backed by Trump, who only sees the world from the barrels of oil. While the Syrian government committed vicious acts against the Kurds in Aleppo, Trump simply called for peace and an end to the fight while the Syrian forces continued their attacks on Kurdish civilians.

However, Trump’s hope and focus on Syria’s stabilization is to reduce the threat to Israel. “We want to see Syria succeed. And so far, I think they are succeeding, but this is just breaking out, and we want to see that stopped,” Trump said.

The Kurds in Syria are among the hurricane of Islamic authority, Arab and Turkish chauvinism, and untrusted friends, such as the U.S. In fact, inviting Al-Sharaa to the White House and meeting with Trump in November, 2025 enhanced the Islamic regime of Syria and empowered Al-Sharaa to implement an Islamic rule formed in a legitimate system. Trump’s “playing card” can no longer be hidden behind his rhetoric of peace in the world.

After the heinous operations against the civilians, only one Republican Senator, Jim Risch (R-Idaho), expressed concern about the human rights violations against the Kurds in Aleppo. “I am gravely concerned about the conduct of armed forces in Aleppo, Syria, over the past week and urge the government to hold accountable those who committed these egregious acts,” Sen. Risch wrote on X. Obviously, Sen. Risch is asking the Syrian government to hold the perpetrators accountable, but in fact, Al-Sharaa himself leads the perpetrators!

Seemingly, the Kurdish rights will not be recognized through the peace process in Syria nor in Turkey. It has been nearly eight months, since May 2025, when the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) announced its disarmament, answering a call from its leader Abdullah Ocalan to engage in the democratic process in Turkey and become a part of the system with hopes for the release of Ocalan from prison. Apparently, Erdogan’s regime has no intention of recognizing the Kurdish political identity in Turkey in an autonomous region.

Al-Sharaa has paved the path for Erdogan’s involvement in Syria to achieve a mutual goal, which is ending the (SDF) and its call for Kurdish autonomy in Syria. According to Sipan Hemo, a member of the (SDF) General Command, the attack on Aleppo’s Kurdish neighborhoods was a plot planned by the Syrian government and various groups. “The plot is against the existence of the Kurdish people,” Hemo said.

Turkey also played a major role in the operation, as Hemo said, “Let me be explicit: the drones over Sheikh Maqsud and the tanks used against it were all Turkish,” he said.

As President Trump aims at a stronger relationship with Syria’s Sunni Islamic regime to shield the area from Iranian proxies and provide protection to Israel, he is unlikely to take decisive action to protect the Kurds from the attacks of the Syrian forces and their militias in northeastern Syria. With Trump’s agreement with Al-Sharaa to combat (ISIS), the (SDF)’s mission ended, and the U.S is gradually shifting away from the Kurds in Syria.

General Mazloum Abdi, commander-in-chief of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF)—the de facto army of Syria’s autonomous Kurdish administration in Rojava (Syrian Kurdistan)—shakes hands with members of the YAT (Yekîneyên Antî Teror, Kurdish for “Anti-Terror Units”). The YAT is the special forces branch of the SDF, composed of highly trained and well-equipped fighters from the People’s Protection Units (YPG) and the Women’s Protection Units (YPJ). October 2025. Photo: YAT’s video/via iKurd.net

Apparently, pressuring commander Mazloum Abdi to sign an agreement on March 11, 2025, with Al-Sharaa to integrate the (SDF) forces into the Syrian army did not satisfy the thirst of the radical Muslims of Syria and the chauvinistic Turkish regime for Kurdish blood, as the Sheikh Maqsud and al-Ashrafieh neighborhoods suffered a substantial blow from the attacks in early January.

The conflict of the Kurds versus Al-Sharaa/Erdogan did not emerge with the (SDF)’s existence but, in fact, it is a historical opposition of Arabs and Turks to the Kurdish rights to an autonomous territory that defines the political identity of the Kurds. Now, with Trump being in office and the alliance with the U.S under his administration standing on a fragile foundation, the Kurds in Syria, in addition to the U.S, should seek another ally that is more trustworthy.

Serwan Zangana, a contributing writer for iKurd.net, lives in Virginia, U.S. He serves as a correction officer.

The views expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of iKurd.net or its editorial team.