The Limits of U.S. Influence in Syria

Posted: October 7th, 2019

By General Jack Keane

General Keane, a four-star general, retired after 37 years of service which culminated in his appointment as acting Chief of Staff and Vice Chief of Staff of the US Army. General Keane is president of GSI Consulting and serves as chairman of the Institute for the Study of War, and a former and recent member of the Secretary of Defense Policy Board. In 2018, General Keane was the first military leader to be honored with the Ronald Reagan Peace Through Strength Award and in 2020, he was presented with the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Trump at the White House.

The White House announced Sunday that President Trump will endorse a Turkish military operation near the border with Syria that will target Kurdish forces. Turkey sees the forces as a terrorist insurgency but many of those forces fight alongside the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (S.D.F.) battling ISIS in the region.

Before the White House made the announcement, The Cipher Brief spoke with our expert, General Jack Keane (Ret.), who also serves as chairman of the Institute for the Study of War about the situation in Syria and what risks and opportunities remain for the U.S. some 8 years after the conflict began.

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