ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — US Senator Lindsey Graham revealed that he suggested for President Donald Trump to slow down the withdrawal from Syria, so the YPG does not remain an armed threat to Turkey.
"So I told President Trump if you withdraw and do not think this through, you are creating a nightmare for Turkey. President Obama created a nightmare for Turkey by arming elements of the YPG that are clearly tied to the PKK and in the eyes of Turkey this was devastating," Graham said in a statement to reporters in Ankara on Saturday.
"So I told President Trump if you withdraw and do not think this through, you are creating a nightmare for Turkey. President Obama created a nightmare for Turkey by arming elements of the YPG that are clearly tied to the PKK and in the eyes of Turkey this was devastating," Graham said in a statement to reporters in Ankara on Saturday.
Graham believes the US and Turkish militaries are already coordinating on a plan to disarm the YPG.
“Here’s the good news: General Dunford, I think, has a plan that he’s working on with the Turkish military that can accomplish these objectives and they are to move the YPG elements away from Turkey,” said Graham, adding that heavy weapons in particular should be taken away.
US military officers previously have testified to Congress that the Peoples' Protection Units (YPG) is linked to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). The YPG denies that it is under the command of the PKK.
The PKK is designated as a terrorist organization by Ankara, Brussels, and Washington. It has fought an off-and-on sometimes armed guerilla conflict against the Turkish state for nearly four decades.
The PKK argues its fight is justified in order to obtain better cultural, political, and minority rights in Turkey.
The decision to arm the YPG in Syria was deemed necessary by the US military to defeat ISIS in northeast Syria. Their fighters, who are diverse but predominately Kurdish, comprised the bulk of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
Trump announced on December 18 that the US would withdraw forces from Syria because ISIS was essentially defeated. Four Americans were killed in an attack claimed by ISIS in Manbij on Thursday.
Analysts have cautioned that although ISIS no longer controls 99 percent of the lands east of the Euphrates it once did, the ideology and threat it poses continues in addition to thousands of estimated fighters.
Graham has been in Turkey meeting with high-level officials including President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, as well as the defense and foreign ministers.
"A withdrawal that does not accomplish the objectives that I have outlined is going to lead to a broader war," said Graham. "It will not end the war against ISIS; it will start a new one."
Graham believes it is irresponsible to withdraw without first disarming the YPG.
"This war that I fear will be one of necessity by Turkey to go into Syria and clear out the armed elements that Syria believes represent a terrorist threat to the sovereignty of Turkey," he said, before correcting "Syria believes" to "Turkey believes."
"They will have to be a force of arms to deal with the people we armed..." he added.
Additionally, Graham argued the withdrawal should accomplish two other objectives: “the enduring defeat of ISIS" and the “containment of Iran.”
Graham said he understands the desire to withdraw, but criticized the lack of a plan from the US administration "as chaos."
"I'm encouraging President Trump not to do what President Obama did which is just to 'get out' and not understand what happens after you get out," implored the senator.
Critics argue that a US withdrawal from Syria undermines its anti-Iran policy.
Graham called Assad "an Iran in another name," adding that Damascus' control of the fields would result in oil going to Tehran.
“Our withdrawal cannot be a victory for Iran," he said, reiterating a plan that is not well thought out will allow Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to takeover oil fields in northeast Syria.
ISIS took over many oil fields beginning in late 2013 as the country was engulfed in civil war.
"Equally important is to protect Turkey and solve the problem we created for our Turkish allies," he said.
Graham is a member of three powerful Senate committees: Foreign Relations, Budget, and Appropriations. Additionally, the lawyer by trade is chairman of the Judiciary Committee.
Graham is a US Air Force veteran. He was in active service from 1982-1988 and a reserve until retiring as a colonel 2015.
In early January, Erdogan reportedly refused to meet with Trump's National Security Advisor John Bolton as Turkey was threatening an offensive east of the Euphrates against the YPG.
The ambassador came to Ankara with preconditions of protecting the Kurds who fought alongside the US-led international coalition to defeat ISIS, in effect the YPG.
While Graham cannot directly conduct foreign policy, he and other lawmakers can affect Trump's decision as Congress holds the purse strings.
“Here’s the good news: General Dunford, I think, has a plan that he’s working on with the Turkish military that can accomplish these objectives and they are to move the YPG elements away from Turkey,” said Graham, adding that heavy weapons in particular should be taken away.
US military officers previously have testified to Congress that the Peoples' Protection Units (YPG) is linked to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). The YPG denies that it is under the command of the PKK.
The PKK is designated as a terrorist organization by Ankara, Brussels, and Washington. It has fought an off-and-on sometimes armed guerilla conflict against the Turkish state for nearly four decades.
The PKK argues its fight is justified in order to obtain better cultural, political, and minority rights in Turkey.
The decision to arm the YPG in Syria was deemed necessary by the US military to defeat ISIS in northeast Syria. Their fighters, who are diverse but predominately Kurdish, comprised the bulk of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
Trump announced on December 18 that the US would withdraw forces from Syria because ISIS was essentially defeated. Four Americans were killed in an attack claimed by ISIS in Manbij on Thursday.
Analysts have cautioned that although ISIS no longer controls 99 percent of the lands east of the Euphrates it once did, the ideology and threat it poses continues in addition to thousands of estimated fighters.
Graham has been in Turkey meeting with high-level officials including President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, as well as the defense and foreign ministers.
"A withdrawal that does not accomplish the objectives that I have outlined is going to lead to a broader war," said Graham. "It will not end the war against ISIS; it will start a new one."
Graham believes it is irresponsible to withdraw without first disarming the YPG.
"This war that I fear will be one of necessity by Turkey to go into Syria and clear out the armed elements that Syria believes represent a terrorist threat to the sovereignty of Turkey," he said, before correcting "Syria believes" to "Turkey believes."
"They will have to be a force of arms to deal with the people we armed..." he added.
Additionally, Graham argued the withdrawal should accomplish two other objectives: “the enduring defeat of ISIS" and the “containment of Iran.”
Graham said he understands the desire to withdraw, but criticized the lack of a plan from the US administration "as chaos."
"I'm encouraging President Trump not to do what President Obama did which is just to 'get out' and not understand what happens after you get out," implored the senator.
Critics argue that a US withdrawal from Syria undermines its anti-Iran policy.
Graham called Assad "an Iran in another name," adding that Damascus' control of the fields would result in oil going to Tehran.
“Our withdrawal cannot be a victory for Iran," he said, reiterating a plan that is not well thought out will allow Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to takeover oil fields in northeast Syria.
ISIS took over many oil fields beginning in late 2013 as the country was engulfed in civil war.
"Equally important is to protect Turkey and solve the problem we created for our Turkish allies," he said.
Graham is a member of three powerful Senate committees: Foreign Relations, Budget, and Appropriations. Additionally, the lawyer by trade is chairman of the Judiciary Committee.
Graham is a US Air Force veteran. He was in active service from 1982-1988 and a reserve until retiring as a colonel 2015.
In early January, Erdogan reportedly refused to meet with Trump's National Security Advisor John Bolton as Turkey was threatening an offensive east of the Euphrates against the YPG.
The ambassador came to Ankara with preconditions of protecting the Kurds who fought alongside the US-led international coalition to defeat ISIS, in effect the YPG.
While Graham cannot directly conduct foreign policy, he and other lawmakers can affect Trump's decision as Congress holds the purse strings.
The United States is yet to pass a budget for Fiscal Year 2019 due to Trump's insistence on congressional funding for the construction of a wall on the southern border with Mexico.
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