WASHINGTON (WCIV) — U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, as tensions remain high in Syria, vowed Tuesday to introduce legislation that would impose “cripple sanctions” on any foreign government or group that remains hostile to Syrian Kurds.
In that same social media post, Graham claimed the Syrian government is “aligned with Turkey” and that the deteriorating situation in the region was a “great concern.” The senior senator from South Carolina also claimed that the Kurds are the United States’ chief ally in destroying the Islamic State group’s territorial hold, and abandoning them would be “a disaster for America’s reputation and national security interests.”
Graham didn’t publish any of the legislation he alluded to, but promised to introduce the Save the Kurds Act, which he believes will “receive strong bipartisan support” at a time when the Senate remains fractured over American foreign policy.
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Graham’s latest comments come as Syria’s defense ministry said it extended a cease-fire across all military operations for 15 days on Jan. 24, hours after an original weeklong truce with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces expired.
Over the past three weeks, there have been intense clashes between government forces and the SDF, in which the SDF lost large parts of the area they once controlled.
The Kurdish-led group was a U.S. partner force during the campaign against the Islamic State group in Syria. However, that relationship appeared to unravel last week, when the U.S. special envoy to Syria, Thomas J. Barrack, said that Washington no longer viewed the Kurdish-led forces as a main partner in the fight against the Islamic State, according to reporting from the New York Times.
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Several reports suggest the pause has been tied to a U.S. effort to move Islamic State detainees held in northeastern Syria to Iraq amid concerns that renewed fighting could trigger prison breaks.
It is believed that as many as 7,000 ISIS detainees currently held in Syria could eventually be transferred to facilities managed by Iraqi authorities.
Meanwhile, Graham’s latest threat mirrors earlier episodes in which he pressed for sanctions linked to events in Syria and Turkey. During Turkey’s 2019 incursion into northern Syria, Graham said he would introduce legislation imposing what he described as “devastating” sanctions on Turkey.
“I am trying to work with the administration and regional partners to prevent a bloodbath in Syria against our Kurdish allies,” Graham continued. “It is now time for the region to change their ways and man up for decency.”
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EDITOR’S NOTE: The Associated Press contributed to this report.