What Trump’s Syria decision means on the front lines of the fight against ISIS

What’s agonizing is that Mazloum has been fighting alongside U.S. Special Operations Forces that represent the steadfastness of this country’s military, and now he is experiencing a quite different American face. “To be frank, the first thing I thought about when I heard this decision was America’s reputation,” Mazloum said. “Because after this decision, what are people going to say about America? All the credibility and trust that was built, we have lost.”…

Mazloum said Trump’s decision was a shock because it came just a week after a personal visit from Ambassador James Jeffrey, the administration’s special envoy to Syria. Jeffrey promised that U.S. forces wouldn’t withdraw until they had achieved the “enduring defeat” of the Islamic State, the expulsion of Iranian troops from Syria and a political settlement that stabilized the country. Jeffrey’s promises “created a high level of morale,” Mazloum explained, “but unfortunately, after a short period, the opposite happened.”