Will Congress rein in US support for Syrian Kurds?
Turkey's concerns are starting to gain traction on Capitol Hill.
Turkey is finally starting to get through to US lawmakers about its concerns with American support for the Syrian Kurds, with potential repercussions for the fight against the self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS).
Fresh off a trip to the Syrian refugee camp in Gaziantep, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., told reporters last week that the Obama administration's strategy of relying on the People's Protection Units (YPG) to destroy IS is "never going to work." The remarks were immediately picked up by the Turkish press, which eagerly framed them as evidence that Washington may be coming around to Ankara's point of view that the YPG is a close cousin to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), a US-designated terrorist group.
"What I saw from Turkey was a real anxiety about our strategy in Syria," said Graham, a hawkish member of the Armed Services Committee who unsuccessfully ran for president this cycle. "Turkey is of the view that this strategy will never work and will never result in destroying [IS]. And they're very worried that the training of the Kurdish forces inside of Syria is going to flow into their side of the border. I cannot tell you how upset they are with our Syria policy."
Graham said he's had "a lot of discussions" with fellow members of the committee about his concerns that supporting the Syrian Kurds is a fool's errand because they have little incentive to attack IS' stronghold in Raqqa. The city is majority Sunni Arab and is located south of the Syrian Kurdish region along Turkey's southern border.
