The influential Republican Senator Lindsey Graham has called on US President Donald Trump to reconsider the decision to withdraw 2000 troops from Syria. On television CNN Graham said the jihadist militia "Islamic State" (IS) is not yet defeated. It must be ensured that she "never" return. He would appeal to Trump to discuss it with his generals.
Graham had previously described Trump's decision as a "big mistake". If the US troops left now, the Kurds would be "massacred," the senator said. And "if we abandon the Kurds and they are massacred, who will help us in the future?" He added. The former critic Trumps, who is now regarded as his confidant, also warned against "giving" Syria to the Iranians. In his words, that would be a "nightmare" for Israel.
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The announced US withdrawal could leave a power vacuum, especially in northern Syria. There Kurdish militias are active, which have asked the government in Damascus for fear of a Turkish offensive after the planned withdrawal of the US troops for help. The Kurdish People's Defense Units (YPG) had previously fought the IS with the support of the US military. Turkish troops already hold parts of northern Syria - and could expand their sphere of influence in Syria after the US withdrawal.