To have seat at table, America needs to be on ground in Syria: US official

The U.S. military has played a quiet but crucial diplomatic role in Syria, helping facilitate agreements between militia groups and the country’s new government, American military officials said to WSJ.

U.S. forces, stationed in Syria to counter a resurgence of the terrorist group Daesh, have brokered discussions between the new Damascus government and the U.S.-backed, YPG which occupies large parts of the country’s northeast, according to the officials.

The negotiations aim to stabilize Syria and prevent a renewed conflict that could complicate efforts to contain terrorist groups operating in the region.

US aims to secure influence in Syria’s future

A senior U.S. military official emphasized the necessity of maintaining American influence in the evolving Syrian landscape.

“Russia still has people they work with. Türkiye has people they work with,” the official said. “If the U.S. doesn’t have people we work with, we have no seat at the table, and next thing you know, we can’t do strikes.”

The discussions also extended to a opposition group supported by the U.S. in Syria’s southeast, the Syrian Free Army (SFA), which was encouraged to make peace with factions that took power in Damascus last year after toppling the Assad government.

Key agreement brings YPG closer to Damascus

The negotiations culminated in a deal signed March 10, between Syrian interim president Ahmed al-Sharaa and Ferhat Abdi Sahin, one of the ringleaders of the YPG/PKK terrorist group and the so-called commander of the SDF, Ending a three-month standoff.

The agreement will bring a significant portion of SDF-occupied territory under government control.

Abdi, code-named Mazlum Kobani, also known as Mazloum Abdi is a wanted terrorist group figure by Türkiye.

“There was a lot of back and forth, and we kind of acted as an intermediary to help them have this discussion,” a senior U.S. military official said. “We kind of went back and forth until finally, we got something they were all amenable to.””

To finalize the agreement, the U.S.-led coalition flew Abdi to an airfield near Damascus, where he signed the document alongside Sharaa.

US military presence remains a factor

The U.S. has about 2,000 troops stationed across eight bases in Syria, more than double the officially acknowledged number before reinforcements were deployed following the collapse of the Assad regime.

Military officials said the potential for a future U.S. troop withdrawal factored into the SDF’s decision to reach an agreement with Damascus. “That is a piece of leverage,” one U.S. official noted. “The threat of us departing, I think, has helped make it more urgent.”

While the U.S. Central Command declined to comment on the role of American forces in the negotiations, Syrian state media described the agreement as a step toward preventing the country’s fragmentation. The so-called ringleader of the YPG said on X that the deal represented an opportunity to build a new Syria.

Diplomatic and military considerations

U.S. officials remain cautious about Syria’s new leadership.

The Trump administration has expressed skepticism toward the government led by former opposition groups, urging them to form a more inclusive administration. Some senior U.S. officials have criticized the new leaders as extremists and questioned their intentions.

The U.S. military is also in direct contact with Sharaa’s office and Syria’s Defense Ministry to prevent unintended clashes between U.S. and Syrian forces.

One such coordination effort occurred last week when the U.S.-led coalition considered striking an abandoned rocket launcher linked to Iranian-backed forces. Instead, the coalition contacted the Syrian Defense Ministry, which sent a team to dismantle the site, averting an airstrike. “They’ve been responsive, cooperative,” a senior U.S. military official said. “If we weren’t talking, we’d have all sorts of random encounters that wouldn’t go well.”