Trump ally threatens sanctions against major NATO state

The US might have to retaliate against Türkiye over its actions in Syria, Senator Lindsey Graham said

US Republican Senator Lindsey Graham has threatened to propose sanctions against Türkiye if it attacks the American-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). A strong supporter of President-elect Donald Trump, Graham argued that sweeping operations against the SDF would benefit the terrorist group Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) and damage American interests in the region.

The SDF, which is dominated by Kurdish groups, reported over the weekend that it came under Turkish artillery and drone attacks.

Pan-Arabic news channel Al Mayadeen cited the local SDF command on Saturday as saying that “the Turkish occupation and its mercenaries” were clashing with the Kurdish-led troops around Manbij, a city to the northeast of Aleppo.

Reuters reported on Sunday that the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army (SNA) has captured Manbij, while the SDF has withdrawn. According to the Turkish media, SNA was operating against Kurdish militias that are part of the SDF and are considered terrorists by Ankara.

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In a post on X on Sunday, Graham argued that the US “should not allow the Kurdish forces – who helped us destroy ISIS on President Trump’s watch – to be threatened by Turkey or the radical Islamists who have taken over Syria.”

“We have to ensure that the roughly 50,000 ISIS prisoners in northeastern Syria – being primarily held by Kurdish forces – are not released,” he added.

“Turkey has legitimate concerns regarding different groups that reside in northeastern Syria,” Graham wrote, referring to Türkiye by its old name, but “an ISIS jailbreak … would be a nightmare for America.”

Turkey deserves to have a demilitarized buffer zone between northeastern Syria and Turkey to protect Turkish interests. However, if Turkey takes military action against Kurdish forces in Syria, it will jeopardize America’s interests dramatically.

“In the past I have drafted sanctions targeting Turkey if they engage in military operations against the Kurdish forces who helped President Trump destroy ISIS. I stand ready to do this again in a bipartisan way,” the senator warned.

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The political balance in Syria shifted dramatically over the weekend, when a loose coalition of opposition forces led by the Islamists from Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) captured Damascus and toppled President Bashar Assad. The SDF used the collapse of the government army to expand its control in eastern Syria.

The US has backed the SDF throughout the Syrian civil war when its soldiers were fighting the government troops and Islamic State. At the same time, the US showed no support to Kurdish forces in northern Syria when they were attacked by the Turkish army during Ankara’s cross-border “anti-terrorist” operations.