Normally, there would be much to admire about a decentralization of political power — especially if it limited the geographic reach of a nasty dictator like Assad. In this case, though, the initiative merely serves the interests of Washington's cynical, imperialistic policy that already has caused so much suffering for the Syrian people. Moreover, one of the factions receiving U.S. support is an especially odious collection of violent Islamists.

One party reportedly gaining Washington's blessing is the SDF — the Syrian Democratic Forces, a largely Kurdish group that has been a U.S. client since the earliest years of Syria's civil war that began in 2011.  That faction at least has some plausible secular, democratic credentials, although Western officials overrate that aspect, much as they do for the government of the autonomous Kurdish region next door in Iraq.  The primary motive for Washington's longstanding alliance with the SDF is to legitimize the ongoing U.S. military presence in northeastern Syria — the region that just happens to contain most of the country's oil reserves.