Congress is nearing a vote on the Pentagon’s request to send $130 million in military assistance to armed groups in Syria fighting the Islamic State, but changing dynamics on the ground could weaken the program’s effectiveness and dampen the Trump administration’s efforts to improve ties with Damascus.
The Counter-ISIS Train and Equip Fund has disbursed hundreds of millions of dollars since 2014 to pay salaries, provide weapons and train vetted partner forces fighting ISIS — primarily in Syria and Iraq.
But in Syria, the organizations that the fund was intended to support, such as the Syrian Democratic Forces, are in the process of integrating with the formal Syrian military, which is overseen by a government the State Department still formally designates as an SST — a State Sponsor of Terrorism.
Rep. Joe Wilson, South Carolina Republican and a member of the House Armed Services Committee, told The Washington Times that the designation is a serious impediment to the White House’s plans for aid to Syria and needs to change “if the U.S. wants to see Damascus in control of a professionalized military.”
“There is an incredible opportunity available for security cooperation with the Syrian government. Unfortunately, due to Syria’s continuing designation as a State Sponsor of Terrorism, which prohibits security assistance absent a waiver, it is difficult for efforts to begin until that is removed,” he said.
Syria has been designated an SST since 1979. Its new government, headed by former rebel leader Ahmad al-Sharaa, has been cooperative with U.S. objectives in the region, including the decision in Damascus last year to join the U.S.-led anti-ISIS task force, known as the Combined Joint Task Force — Operation Inherent Resolve.
Officially, nations that are designated as SSTs cannot receive most forms of assistance from the U.S., including arms sales and dual-use goods, which would directly complicate any effort to allocate resources under the CTEF.
However, there’s been little movement to remove the SST designation.
Sen. Jim Risch, Idaho Republican and chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said earlier this year that he was working with the Trump administration, which has moved aggressively to normalize relations with Damascus, and was hopeful that the designation would be removed by the end of April.
As of early June, the label is still in place.
Mr. al-Sharaa has never publicly acknowledged the SST designation. However, in a May phone call with President Trump, he stressed that “the lifting of sanctions is the primary step toward revitalizing the Syrian economy,” in an apparent reference to the designation.
Under U.S. law, the State Department has wide discretion to remove the designation if there has been a fundamental change in a target nation’s government and the president can confirm the country is no longer supporting terrorism. Removing the designation would also require congressional review.
A State Department official told the Times that a review of Syria’s SST designation is ongoing.
The $1.15 trillion National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2027, which was approved by the House Armed Services Committee last week, includes $253 million for the total anti-ISIS fund but does not clarify how the money will be allocated to vetted organizations within the Syrian military or how the U.S. can be sure that non-vetted groups don’t gain access to the funds.
The Pentagon initially asked for $130 million for the Syria component of the fund.
The complete withdrawal of U.S. troops from Syria, with the last American convoy departing in April, removes the primary mechanism the Pentagon has used to vet recipients and monitor how CTEF funds are spent.
Syria’s integration efforts with the SDF “disrupted U.S. forces’ ability to vet Syrian actors, leaving future Syrian counter-ISIS partnerships in limbo,” according to a quarterly report from the Lead Inspector General for Operation Inherent Resolve.
Those disruptions threaten to worsen the security situation inside Syria, as Mr. al-Sharaa looks to consolidate control through the integration of the SDF and eliminate terror threats across the country.
While Syria attempts to build a stable civil society, ISIS has worked consistently to undermine those efforts and exploit the transition. The United Nations reported earlier this year that ISIS had developed active sleeper networks in urban centers, including Damascus.
Just days after the last contingent of U.S. troops left Syria in April, ISIS leadership released an audio message urging its supporters to attack the Syrian government. Another U.N. report from February found that ISIS was behind at least five attempts on Mr. al-Sharaa’s life over the past year.
Syria could also soon see itself playing a crucial security role beyond its own borders.
During remarks at the Group of Seven Summit this week, Mr. Trump said he had personally pushed for Syria to take on a bigger role in fighting Iran-backed Hezbollah militants in Lebanon.
“I suggested to Israel to let Syria take care of Hezbollah, because, to be honest with you, I think they’d do a better job of doing it,” he said. “If Israel can’t do the job without killing everyone else … Syria will do the job.”
While Damascus has assisted in dismantling Hezbollah’s supply networks within Syria, launching incursions into Lebanon itself would be an entirely new, and likely more complex, operation.
But the ask underscores the growing relationship between Mr. Trump and Mr. al-Sharaa. Mr. Trump last year became the first U.S. president to host a Syrian head of state and pushed hard to eliminate the Assad-era “Caesar” sanctions on the country. However, funding only select factions within Syria’s army, rather than the army itself, could risk signaling that Washington’s commitment to Damascus is conditional.
“If the Pentagon chooses to continue collaboration with SDF or elements of SDF, this might send the wrong signal to the Syrian government and even to the SDF individuals that the American government is not serious about the integration,” Abdulrahim Ismail, president of the U.S.-based Syrian advocacy group Citizens for a Secure and Safe America, said.
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