A US Withdrawal from Syria Will Reinvigorate the ISIS Terror Threat
By Brian Carter
February 26, 2025
The withdrawal of US forces from Syria would risk reversing hard-earned gains against the Islamic State of Iraq and al Sham (ISIS). ISIS is not destroyed. It is kept in check by the combined pressure of US forces in Iraq and Syria and their Kurdish allies. The withdrawal of US forces will remove that pressure and allow ISIS to reconstitute, likely rapidly, to dangerous levels.
The US military presence in Syria has contained ISIS and prevented the group from conducting attacks in the West—all at minimal risk to US personnel in Syria. The fall of the Bashar al Assad regime has opened new opportunities for the United States to conclude its mission to defeat ISIS. Withdrawing from Syria, on the other hand, would alleviate pressure on ISIS and enable the group to reconstitute and establish sanctuaries in Syria. That would in turn allow ISIS to threaten Iraq and plan terror attacks in the West, imposing yet another demand on US policymakers’ attention and resources. Russia and Turkey have offered to support the counter-ISIS mission, but they lack the ability and willingness to do so effectively.[1] The United States cannot depend on the others to fill the role that only American forces can.
ISIS could resurge in 12 to 24 months without a US presence in Syria.[2] ISIS has spent the past several years building its strength there, leading US Central Command to warn in July 2024 that the group is trying to reconstitute.[3] Though ISIS remains unable to control towns and villages, it can coerce support fr...
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