In Syria, the threat of an intensive Turkish military offensive and uncertainty over continued U.S. support will likely increase pressure on the Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces to reach an agreement with the new Syrian government in exchange for some cultural and political concessions, but such an agreement will likely be unstable due to broader Kurdish autonomy aspirations. As Syria's transitional government takes steps toward integrating many of Syria's rival militant factions into the new government, the future of the U.S.-backed Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces, or SDF, is in limbo. On Dec. 27, the commander of the SDF expressed the group's willingness to integrate into the new Syrian government but warned that this could only be done through a negotiated process with Damascus, which has already begun. Thus far, the SDF proposed that the group integrate into the Syrian Ministry of Defense as a ''military bloc,'' requiring a decentralized administration that...
