Sen. Lindsey Graham, a usually staunch ally of President Trump, slammed the president’s sudden decision to withdraw troops from Syria, warning that it could lead to the resurgence of the Islamic State and more Iranian influence in the region.
Appearing on Fox & Friends Monday, the South Carolina Republican said that he “absolutely” did not agree with Trump’s decision to reverse course and move forward with allowing Turkey to carry out a military operation against U.S. Kurdish allies. Graham, 64, conflated Trump’s decision to those of former President Barack Obama.
“If I didn’t see Donald Trump’s name on the tweet, I thought it would be Obama’s rationale for getting out of Iraq. Here is what is going to happen: this is going to lead to ISIS’ reemergence,” Graham warned. “Nothing better for ISIS than to create a conflict between the Kurds and Turkey.”
Graham said the Kurds would now likely side with Syrian strongman Bashar Assad “because they have nobody to count on.”
[Related: ‘A disastrous series of events’: Fox host lambastes Trump Syria announcement]
Syria, which has been enmeshed in a civil war for years, is led by Assad, who has committed wartime atrocities including the use of chemical weapons against civilians. He is supported by countries that actively oppose the United States, such as Russia and Iran.
The U.S. has kept a presence of about 1,000 troops in the region and has assisted the Kurds in the fight against ISIS, which at one point had a massive caliphate across Iraq and Syria. Despite that, Turkey doesn’t regard Kurdish YPG fighters as allies but rather as terrorists. By pulling away and allowing the operation to move forward, some such as Graham believe the U.S. is creating a vacuum in the region that will bolster Iran and ISIS and lead to the slaughter of Kurdish allies.
“So, this is a big win for Iran and Assad, a big win for ISIS,” Graham said Monday morning. “This is going to lead to the reemergence of ISIS, and the biggest win of all this will be the Iranians, and that’s too bad.
“This impulsive decision by the president has undone all the gains we’ve made, thrown the region into further chaos,” Graham said. “Iran is licking their chops, and if I’m an ISIS fighter, I have got a second lease on life. So, to those who think ISIS has been defeated, you will soon see, and to Turkey, you have destroyed the relationship, what little you had, with the U.S. Congress.”
