ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Republican Senator John McCain made a secret visit to Kobani in Kurdish-controlled northern Syria last week, meeting with American and Kurdish forces fighting to oust ISIS from Raqqa, the Wall Street Journal has reported. His office confirmed the visit in a statement, saying he “traveled to northern Syria last week to visit US forces deployed there and to discuss the counter-ISIL campaign and ongoing operations to retake Raqqa.” McCain, an army veteran and outspoken critic of US President Donald Trump, is chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, which has jurisdiction over the Department of Defense and armed forces. US defense officials are meeting with allies as they formulate strategies to retake Raqqa, self-proclaimed capital of ISIS. The US and the global anti-ISIS coalition are currently backing Kurdish forces (Peoples Protection Units, YPG) and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) who are advancing in their operation to isolate Raqqa. Russia and Turkey have both proposed coordinating with the US in the operation. Turkey, however, would like to see the YPG and SDF elements excluded from the forces that ultimately enter the city as Ankara considers the Kurdish forces terrorist organizations with ties to the banned Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). US defense officials will present options for a reinvigorated campaign to defeat ISIS to Trump by the end of the month. The Wall Street Journal noted that McCain is believed to be the first US lawmaker to visit Kurdish Rojava, northern Syria since American special forces joined the local fighters in the war with ISIS. He visited Syria previously in 2013, meeting with the Free Syrian Army.
