“President Donald Trump on Wednesday threatened to dump thousands of ISIS prisoners in Europe if the countries they originated from refused to take them back in.  Speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump specifically mentioned France and Germany as two countries where its citizens who pledged their loyalty to ISIS could be dropped off. ”We're holding thousands of ISIS fighters right now, and Europe has to take them,” Trump said. “If Europe doesn't take them, I'll have no choice but to release them into the countries from which they came, which is Germany and France and other places.”  Trump's suggestion for the US to release the prisoners comes amid plans to reduce its 2,000 troops in Syria, stoking fears of a rekindling of the jihadist movement throughout the country and beyond and ultimately hurting the global fight against ISIS. This leaves a precarious situation for the Syrian Democratic Forces, a US-backed Kurdish group that relies on the presence of US personnel — and has the responsibility of holding thousands of prisoners in makeshift facilities. SDF is detaining the lion's share of ISIS fighters. The SDF had detained 9,000 militants in Syria by April, according to US military officials. The military also estimated 1,000 of them hailed from 50 different countries.”

Business Insider: Trump's Threat To Dump Thousands Of ISIS Fighters Into Europe Could End Up Hurting Its Fiercest Ally In Syria

“The fall-out from the split between IS and al-Qaeda has led to a competition viewed by both sides as zero sum in nature, where progress by one of these groups signaled a loss for the other. One of the primary drivers of such a heated competition is that, in many ways, the ideology and objectives of the group are so similar. The Islamic State reverted to extreme levels of violence as one method of differentiating itself from its rivals, including al-Qaeda. Both groups are attempting to recruit from the same milieus and influence similar constituencies. The main differences are that IS sought to create a caliphate on a timeline considered premature by al-Qaeda, and IS pursued a far more sectarian agenda in attempting to achieve this objective. Whether and how these differences are ever resolved will have a major impact on the future of the movement writ large. The split itself occurred at the leadership levels of these groups, so one of the most interesting questions is: to what extent do foot soldiers and mid-level commanders really care, in actuality, about the previous infighting and strategic disputes?”

The National Interest: ISIS Vs. Al Qaeda: What Lies In The Future Of Global Jihadism?

“Eastern Syria sits at the crossroads of critical policy decisions in Washington. The region is at the center of an escalating crisis in U.S.-Turkey relations, while maintaining America’s presence there blocks Iranian and Russian gains in Syria. It also is key to keeping ISIS defeated. Washington should see eastern Syria as one of the most important strategic pieces of “real estate” to emerge out of the last half-decade of conflict in the Middle East. The area of northeast Syria where the U.S. today plays a critical role, roughly the size of West Virginia, is now a kind of Gordian Knot. While American adversaries, such as Russia or Iran, have a clear goal in Syria, keeping the Bashar al-Assad regime in power and entrenching their influence, the U.S. policy goal is less clear. Turkey, a historic U.S. ally, recently threatened to launch a military operation into eastern Syria against key U.S. partners who helped defeat the so-called Islamic State, leaving Washington with a devil’s bargain: leave eastern Syria and watch five years of fighting ISIS and working with local forces collapse, or continue to fuel a crisis with Turkey. The U.S. chose a temporary solution, telling Ankara it would work on a “safe zone” along the Syria-Turkey border.”

The Daily Beast: America’s Key To Keeping ISIS Defeated

“The United States and the Taliban officials resumed talks in Qatar on Thursday to firm up a deal enabling the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan in return for the Taliban security guarantees, the Taliban and senior U.S. official said. After 18 years of war and months of direct talks with the Taliban leaders, the United States appears to be at the cusp of reaching a deal that could allow a pullout of foreign forces followed by a ceasefire between the warring sides. Two Taliban spokesmen said the ninth round of talks between the United States and the Taliban representatives started on Thursday evening, and a senior U.S. official privy to the peace negotiations said the “crucial meeting iron out smaller details had begun” in Qatar’s capital city, Doha. About 20,000 foreign troops, most of them American, are now in Afghanistan as part of a U.S.-led NATO mission to train, assist and advise Afghan forces. Some U.S. forces carry out counter-terrorism operations.”

Reuters: Ninth Round Of U.S., Taliban Peace Talks Start In Qatar