{"id":47002,"date":"2018-02-07T18:07:47","date_gmt":"2018-02-07T18:07:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/uncategorized\/2018\/02\/07\/at-us-outpost-in-syria-us-general-backs-kurdish-fighters\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T04:01:31","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T04:01:31","slug":"at-us-outpost-in-syria-us-general-backs-kurdish-fighters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/flashpoints\/2018\/02\/07\/at-us-outpost-in-syria-us-general-backs-kurdish-fighters\/","title":{"rendered":"At US outpost in Syria, US general backs Kurdish fighters"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">MANBIJ, Syria \u2014 The top U.S. general in the coalition fighting the Islamic State group has pledged American troops would remain in the northern Syrian Kurdish town of Manbij despite Ankara\u2019s demands for a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/flashpoints\/2018\/02\/06\/dod-us-backed-force-heading-to-defend-syrian-city-could-be-cut-from-anti-isis-coalition\/\" title=\"\" class=\"\" target=\"_blank\">U.S. pullout<\/a>. Lt. Gen. Paul E. Funk\u2019s remarks came during a visit Wednesday to U.S. forces in Manbij.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Funk says American forces are in Manbij to support their Syrian Kurdish allies and deescalate tensions after <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/flashpoints\/2018\/01\/25\/turkey-sets-sights-on-syrian-region-where-us-forces-operate\/\" title=\"\" class=\"\" target=\"_blank\">Turkey\u2019s incursion in northern Syria<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><i>[Read: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/flashpoints\/2018\/02\/03\/syrian-militants-down-russian-fighter-jet-kill-pilot\/\" title=\"\" class=\"\" target=\"_blank\">8 Turkish troops die in Syria operation; Russian pilot slain<\/a>]<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Turkey launched an offensive last month to drive Syrian Kurdish militiamen out of the enclave of Afrin and has threatened to extend its operation to Manbij. Ankara considers the Kurdish fighters \u201cterrorists\u201d and allied with Kurdish insurgents within Turkey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This raises the prospect of a direct confrontation between NATO allies U.S. and Turkey, on opposing sides in the conflict.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"628\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP_18038621590692.jpg.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-59133\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP_18038621590692.jpg.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP_18038621590692.jpg.jpg?resize=300,157 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP_18038621590692.jpg.jpg?resize=768,402 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP_18038621590692.jpg.jpg?resize=1024,536 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Jamie Jarrord, left, thanks Manbij Military Council commander Muhammed Abu Adeel during a visit to a small outpost near the town of Manbij, northern Syria, Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2018. Lt. Gen. Paul E. Funk, the top U.S. general in the coalition fighting the Islamic State group pledged American troops would remain in the town despite Ankara&#8217;s demands for a U.S. pullout. (Susannah George\/AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The top U.S. general in the coalition fighting the Islamic State group has pledged American troops would remain in the northern Syrian Kurdish town of Manbij despite Ankara\u2019s demands for a U.S. pullout.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":59142,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":13,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[101,13,16,26,65,67],"tags":[],"coauthors":[1144],"class_list":["post-47002","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-flashpoints","category-news","category-newsletters","category-pentagon-congress","category-your-air-force"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"G67MNZR2RJEJVLO7MGRDTSBZIU","arc_canonical_url":"\/flashpoints\/2018\/02\/07\/at-us-outpost-in-syria-us-general-backs-kurdish-fighters\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented 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