“Turkey has legitimate concerns regarding different groups that reside in northeastern Syria. But if there is a conflict between Turkey and the Syrian Democratic Forces [SDF] or Turkey attacks Kurdish forces, it will set in motion an ISIS jailbreak, which would be a nightmare for America,” Graham said on X.
He was commenting on the recent US strikes against ISIS camps and operatives in Syria as reported by the army’s Central Command (CENTCOM).
“We should not allow the Kurdish forces - who helped us destroy ISIS on President [Donald] Trump’s watch - to be threatened by Turkey or the radical Islamists who have taken over Syria,” said Graham, a Republican.
Syria’s civil war dramatically reignited late last month when a coalition of rebels led by the jihadist Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) launched a lightning offensive against the Syrian army, seizing the cities of Aleppo, Hama, Homs, and culminating their victory by capturing the capital Damascus as regime forces scrammed and President Bashar al-Assad fled the country, ending over five decades of Baathist rule.
Kurds have greatly expanded territories under their control to cover most of oil-rich Deir ez-Zor province in the east after government forces and their pro-Iran allies withdrew to redeploy in other areas where the regime was fighting rebels.
As most rebels were busy fighting Assad, Turkey and its Syrian proxies of the Syrian National Army (SNA) launched successive operations against Kurdish forces in the north. They quickly moved to strike the town of Tal Rifaat near Afrin and pushed Kurdish-led forces out.
With celebrations ensuing after the fall of Damascus, the SNA intensified its attacks on the strategic northern city of Manbij in Aleppo province, briefly entering the city before being repelled in a stated ambush by the SDF.
On Sunday, CENTCOM said that it had struck over 75 ISIS targets in Syria with B-52 bombers, F-15s, and A-10 Warthogs.
“The last time ISIS was in charge, thousands of Europeans and Americans were killed by ISIS plots that originated in Syria,” Graham warned.
“If Turkey takes military action against Kurdish forces in Syria, it will jeopardize America’s interests dramatically,” he stressed, adding that he had previously proposed sanctions against Ankara if they targeted Kurdish forces - a prospect he said stands ready to do again in a bipartisan manner.
ISIS rose to power and seized swathes of Iraqi and Syrian land amid a brazen offensive in 2014, declaring a so-called “caliphate”.
Though the jihadists no longer control any territory, they continue to pose a security risk by carrying out kidnappings, hit-and-run attacks, and bombings, and the SDF, which control Rojava, conducts frequent operations against the group.
The Kurdish-led and US-backed SDF fought the lion’s share of the battle against ISIS and arrested thousands of the group’s fighters along with their wives and children when they crushed ISIS territorially and overran its last stronghold in 2019.
Around 2,500 American troops in Iraq and 900 in Syria are leading an international coalition through Operation Inherent Resolve that has assisted Kurdish, Iraqi, and local Syrian forces in the fight against ISIS.
Turkey considers the SDF and its main fighting force, the People’s Protection Units (YPG), as the Syrian front for the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) - designated terrorists by Ankara.
SDF General Commander Mazloum Abdi on Friday stressed that the Kurdish-led force wants to resolve its problems with Ankara through a peaceful resolution to Syria’s war.
But Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan strongly downplayed the possibility of talks with the SDF on Sunday.
“There are three legitimate Kurdish parties that work together in northern Syria, and they have been part of the broader Syrian opposition for a long time. However, any PKK extension in Syria cannot be considered a legitimate party to engage with any talks in Syria,” Fidan said during to Doha Forum, responding to Rudaw’s question. “In short, no, unless they change themselves.”