{"id":69464,"date":"2018-03-29T19:35:59","date_gmt":"2018-03-29T19:35:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/uncategorized\/2018\/03\/29\/us-officials-say-theyre-not-conducting-presence-patrols-in-manbij-syria-but-new-photos-show-otherwise\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T14:02:03","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T14:02:03","slug":"us-officials-say-theyre-not-conducting-presence-patrols-in-manbij-syria-but-new-photos-show-otherwise","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/flashpoints\/2018\/03\/29\/us-officials-say-theyre-not-conducting-presence-patrols-in-manbij-syria-but-new-photos-show-otherwise\/","title":{"rendered":"US officials say they\u2019re not conducting \u2018presence patrols\u2019 in Manbij, Syria, but new photos show otherwise"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Operation Inherent Resolve<\/a> recently posted pictures of U.S. soldiers near Manbij, Syria<\/a>, conducting what the captions called \u201cpresence patrols.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But after Military Times reached out to U.S. officials, the photos were quickly removed from DVIDs, the Defense Department\u2019s media distribution website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI have pulled those photos and cutlines for review and correction. I will release them for reposting at a future time to be determined,\u201d Col. Thomas Veale, public affairs director for OIR, told Military Times.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Additionally, Military Times was told by officials that the forces were only \u201cconducting security within their area of operations\u201d and the term \u201cpresence patrol” does not accurately describe what\u2019s happening in the photos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But according to Jennifer Cafarella, a senior intelligence planner at the Institute for the Study of War, Inherent Resolve is obscuring the purpose of these patrols by using ambiguous language.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey\u2019re trying to use terminology to manage the Turkish reaction,\u201d she said. \u201cThe intended effect \u2014 regardless of the framing \u2014 is to deter Turkey from attacking.\u201d
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Two Coalition members scan the horizon during a joint presence patrol conducted by Coalition and Syrian Democratic Forces in villages and control points near the city of Manbij, Syria, March 24, 2018. Regular presence patrols keep the area safe for local residents, de-escalate tensions amongst parties and prevent ISIS infiltration of the city. (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Timothy Koster, Combined Joint Task Force \u2013 Operation Inherent Resolve)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A big part of deterrence is ensuring a message has clarity, and by obscuring the point of a patrol, U.S. officials might not be ensuring their Turkish counterparts understand the point, she said. In this way, OIR\u2019s shift in language could be poor messaging.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another possibility, though, is that U.S. officials are changing their position on Manbij.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEither they are failing at deterring or they are deciding to go with a different message,\u201d Cafarella said.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
A Syrian Democratic Forces soldier stands inside a compound during a joint Coalition and SDF presence patrol in villages and control points around the city of Manbij, Syria, March 24, 2018. Regular presence patrols keep the area safe for local residents, de-escalate tensions amongst parties and prevent ISIS infiltration of the city. (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Timothy Koster, Combined Joint Task Force \u2013 Operation Inherent Resolve)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Coalition forces have been in the vicinity of Manbij since around August 2016, when they supported locals in the liberation of the area from the Islamic State. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe have maintained a relationship with the Manbij Military Council<\/a> (MMC), which was created to defend Manbij from Daesh,\u201d an OIR official said, using the Arabic term for ISIS.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a statement last week, Inherent Resolve officials called the MMC a \u201cmixed Arab and Kurdish<\/a> council.\u201d
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, though, statements from Inherent Resolve describe the MMC as mostly Arab.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe MMC is a primarily Arab force made up of Manbij locals,\u201d the new statement reads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It also notes that \u201cthe predominantly Arab council has maintained security and stability.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The difference in ethnic makeup may seem innocuous to most Americans, but it is a linchpin in the dispute Turkey is lobbying the United States over.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Turkey began a military offensive over its border into the Syrian city of Afrin in order to eliminate Kurdish fighters<\/a> it considers terrorists \u2014 and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan<\/a> has threatened that the operation will soon extend to Manbij.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Turkey considers the Kurdish Peoples\u2019 Protection Units<\/a>, or YPG, to be linked to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party<\/a>, or PKK, which is considered a terror group by both the United States and Turkey. However, the YPG has been an key part of the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces<\/a> in their fight against ISIS.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Operation Inherent Resolve posted pictures of U.S. soldiers near Manbij, Syria, conducting what the caption called \u2018presence patrols.\u2019 (DoD)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Now, it appears that U.S. officials are attempting to \u201dde-emphasize the level of YPG involvement in military and governing structures in Manbij in order to portray the situation as predominantly Arab and to portray the Turks as the aggressor in any possible endeavor,\u201d Cafarrella said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Still, the relationship between the YPG and U.S. forces is actually unclear, she explained. In fact, it seems the United States has very little leverage over the YPG, as evidenced by their failure to prevent Kurdish units from heading to fight in Afrin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the end, Cafarrella said that the \u201cUnited States is correct in that most of the Manbij Military Council in terms of volume is Arab, but they are subordinate to the YPG chain of command, or at a minimum are subordinate to YPG leadership.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She added that there have been recent protests in the Manbij area by Arabs against the MMC, \u201cfor abuses against the Arab population.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBecause that whole structure is still dominated by the YPG, its ideology and its goals,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Operation Inherent Resolve recently posted pictures of U.S. soldiers near Manbij, Syria, conducting what the captions called \u201cpresence patrols.\u201d But after Military Times reached out to U.S. officials, the photos were quickly 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