In this article, originally published by Small Wars Journal, Irregular Warfare Initiative’s Jonathan W. Hackett writes about the Central Intelligence Agency covert operation ‘Timber Sycamore’ that ran in Syria from 2012 to 2017. This qualitative case study employs content analysis and descriptive inference to analyze declassified documents, government records, and other primary sources surrounding this shadowy case. This study finds that the operation suffered from numerous challenges stemming from oversight shortfalls, limited vetting, and accountability problems. Some weapons disbursed under the program were diverted to groups like the Islamic State, while certain groups trained in the program subscribed to the very Salafi-jihadist ideologies that U.S. forces were deployed to the Middle East to counter. This case offers lessons on complications that Title 50 and Title 10 programs pose while training, equipping, and controlling irregular forces beyond the contours of ordinary security cooperation programs.
Image courtesy of DVIDS: A Syrian Democratic Forces soldier fires a Kalashnikov AK-47 rifle during weapons training in Deir ez-Zor province, Syria, Nov. 29, 2018. Continued assistance to partner forces is essential to setting conditions for regional stability. The Coalition and its partners remain united and resolved to prevent the resurgence of ISIS and its violent extremist ideology. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Arjenis Nunez/Released). The appearance of U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) visual information does not imply or constitute DoD endorsement.
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