Accidental Allies

Analysis of the US involvement in Syria, in the fight against ISIS, and the US relationship with the Syrian Democratic Forces.

Michael Knights is the Jill and Jay Bernstein Fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. He is an expert on "by, with and through" military operations that blend U.S. and partner forces. Knights worked on campaign assessments for Operation Inherent Resolve, the war against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, and has published a number of articles and reports on the war.

PREFACE GLOSSARY SUMMARY OF FINDINGS 1.CHRONOLOGY OF THE CONFLICT IN NORTHEASTERN SYRIA, 20111-2020 2.BUILDING BLOCKS OF THE SDF 3.SUPPORTING FROM AFAR: KOBANI TO AL-HAWL 4.ON THE GROUND: SHADADI TO MANBIJ 5.SCALING UP: THE RAQQA CAMPAIGN 6.OUTSIDE THE COMFORT ZONE: THE DEIR AL-ZOUR CAMPAIGN 7.STABILIZATION "BY, WITH AND THROUGH" THE SDF 8.ASSESSING AMERICA'S "BY, WITH AND THROUGH" CAMPAIGN IN NORTHEAST SYRIA ANNEX 1: ANNOTATED ROSTER OF BATTLES AND CAMPAIGNS IN NORTHEAST SYRIA, 2014-2020 ANNEX 2: YPG/SDF CLAIMED COMBAT LOSSES IN 2013-2019 Index