US reassigns diplomats covering Syria over SDF disagreement
US reassigns diplomats covering Syria over SDF disagreement
The United States has reassigned three diplomats working on Syria after it became clear that they were not aligned with US envoy Thomas Barrack on the need to integrate Syrian Kurds with the Damascus government, Middle East Eye understands.
One source familiar with the matter said the diplomats were serving at the Syria Regional Platform (SRP), which has overseen Syria policy from Istanbul since the closure of the US embassy in Damascus in 2012.
The source added that SRP director Nick Granger, a senior foreign service officer, was among those reassigned.
“These diplomats were holdovers from former US national security coordinator for the Middle East Brett McGurk,” one source said. “They often found themselves at odds with Barrack over the Syrian Democratic Forces.”
McGurk has been a strong supporter of the Kurdish-dominated paramilitary Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) since 2014, when Washington partnered with Syria’s Kurds against the Islamic State group.
He played a central role in persuading the People’s Protection Units (YPG), an armed group that Ankara considers a terrorist organisation, to rebrand by becoming a leading element of the SDF.
Barrack, in contrast, has pushed for the SDF to honour a 10 March agreement signed between Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa and the SDF’s commander Mazloum Abdi, which calls for the group to quickly integrate with Syria’s military under Damascus’s authority, an approach he shares with Turkey.
Barrack, a billionaire real estate investor and close friend of Donald Trump, has upended the traditional mechanisms of Washington’s foreign policy in Syria and the wider Levant by consolidating much decision making, a US official told MEE.
The envoy was upset with how Granger handled previous meetings with Syrian officials in Damascus that discussed the timeline for the SDF to integrate into Syria’s army, a Middle Eastern official told MEE.
The Syria Regional Platform was plagued with infighting as some officials moved closer to Barrack’s position on a speedy SDF integration, while others were seen as more supportive of the paramilitaries, MEE was told.
MEE understands that Granger clashed with another senior official in the office, Scott Bowles, the US special representative for north and east Syria, who was more aligned with Barrack.
Middle East Eye has asked the US state department for comment.
Uncertain merger
The SDF and Syrian Kurds have sent mixed signals over the 10 March deal.
The civilian Kurdish leadership convened a conference this summer calling for a decentralised governance system.
Senior Kurdish official Salih Muslim said last month that his Democratic Union Party (PYD), the political wing of the YPG, would seek independence if Damascus refused to accept such an arrangement.
The SDF is also resisting merging under the Syrian defence ministry, instead seeking to join as a distinct, autonomous force - a position unacceptable to both Turkey and Damascus.
Nonetheless, the SDF continues to enjoy US Central Command support, with around 900 American troops in northern Syria assisting its operations against Islamic State.
Turkish officials familiar with Ankara’s position told MEE that Turkey’s patience with the SDF is running thin.
In August, Ankara issued a 30‑day warning, while Sharaa later argued that the March agreement allows until January for implementation, urging Turkey to show patience.
On Wednesday, Sharaa told a group of journalists and experts that Ankara might launch a military intervention against the SDF.
The same day, Turkish intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin said during a visit to Damascus that Turkey was ready to provide any assistance needed, according to the state-run Anadolu news agency.
