Reaching the Kurdish Limit

Syrian Kurds are getting more distant from America since the defeat of the bulk of ISIL in Syria.

Indeed, the Turks are shifting forces from the ISIL fight to the Turkish front, prompting America to "pause"anti-ISIL missions.

I've said from early on in this war that we couldn't rely on the Kurds to be the core of an anti-Assad Syrian rebel army. Even without the tensions of competing demands from our Turkish nominal NATO ally, the Kurds weren't going to die in the west of Syria to defeat Assad.

We overcame Kurdish reticence to die for Raqqa by sending in troops and equipment to Syria to support the Kurds and by pulling Arabs into that force. With a careful firepower-heavy operation, Raqqa was finally captured.

But I was right about Mosul and I am right about Damascus, as the Kurdish opening to Assad indicates.