Plan to bring Syria into US-led coalition brings risks, opportunities for Sharaa
Damascus' entry into the US-led coalition may formalize expanded intelligence sharing on the Islamic State, but military cooperation remains a distant prospect. A US official denied to Al-Monitor there are any current plans to deploy American troops near the capital just yet.
WASHINGTON — As Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa heads to Washington to meet with President Donald Trump at the White House on Monday, the former jihadist leader is expected to decide whether Damascus will formally join the US-led consortium of nations cooperating to prevent the re-emergence of the Islamic State group.
The anticipated move, previewed by Washington's ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack during a visit to Bahrain last week, is expected to be largely symbolic.
In practice, analysts and military officials say, it would simply formalize the broadened scope of intelligence sharing already occurring between the US and Sharaa's government as American special operations forces continue to track down remaining ISIS suspects in the country.
“US intelligence tools tend to work best when you have the local government on your side,” said Daniel Byman, director of the warfare, irregular threats and terrorism program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.
