Donald Trump’s stated goal of preventing a resurgence of the Islamic State (ISIS) risks being undermined by his administration’s support for Syria’s Islamist interim president, Ahmed al-Sharaa.
Al-Sharaa, who until recently carried a $10 million US bounty for his past ties to al-Qaeda, rose to power in late 2024 after toppling Bashar al-Assad with significant Turkish backing. Washington later lifted the bounty and, seeking improved relations with Turkey and Saudi Arabia, extended political legitimacy to the new regime in Damascus.
Since then, al-Sharaa’s forces have been accused of failing to prevent — and in some cases actively participating in — attacks against Syria’s religious and ethnic minorities, including Druze, Alawites, Christians and Kurds. Of particular concern are clashes with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), America’s main local ally in the fight against ISIS.
The SDF played a decisive role in the 2017 defeat of ISIS and currently guards tens of thousands of ISIS terrorists and family members in detention camps across northern Syria. Recent assaults by al-Sharaa’s forces on Kurdish areas have reportedly led to mass prison breaks, with hundreds of ISIS terrorists escaping.