Syria
Floor Speech
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. GRAHAM. I thank my colleague from New Hampshire.
Let me ask the question, when we went to Syria and Iraq together, did anyone in the military suggest to you that withdrawing in the foreseeable future was a good idea?
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. GRAHAM. Did they also not say that the Syrian Democratic Forces were some of the best allies we had since 9/11?
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. GRAHAM. Did anyone suggest to you that the war against ISIS in Syria was over and had been won?
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. GRAHAM. Do you remember being told that thousands of ISIS fighters had gone back into the fabric of Syria and that they will reemerge under the right conditions?
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. GRAHAM. Well, I just want to state that this has been a long struggle. Most Americans, all things being equal, would like to get all of our troops home.
The Middle East is a very complicated place. I share the President's desire to withdraw our forces when it makes sense. As to the public at large, I want to stress that having been in the military for quite a while, I am very aware of the sacrifices required to go overseas and serve in Iraq, Syria, and Afghanistan. I have come to conclude that a presence over there is still necessary to keep us safe here.
There is a division in this body about whether we should have a wall as part of border security. I think we need a wall as part of border security to secure our southern border. Every Democrat is for border security; we just maybe have a different way of doing it.
What I tried to tell the President, with apparently very little effect, is that you are right to want to secure our border because drugs are coming across, criminals are coming across, and illegal immigration is a problem in the country, and securing the border is part of the solution, but I told him I don't know of any way to defend the Nation from radical Islam by building a wall.
There is no wall we can build between us and the forces of radical Islam that reside in Africa and the Mideast--places like Syria and Iraq. I tried to convey to him that our deployed forces, in partnership with others, is a virtual wall. It is the best hope we have of stopping another 9/11, protecting ourselves and our allies; that a forward deployed presence gives us eyes and ears on the ground, working with others to protect the homeland and to destroy over time the scourge called radical Islam.
The partnership between us and the Syrian forces, which has been mostly Kurds, has been very successful.
I want to compliment the Senator from New Hampshire for taking the floor and expressing a resolve to maintain a fairly small military footprint in Syria and having connected to that our own national security interests. Maybe the good news--if there is any from today--is that Democrats and Republicans, after 16 or 17 years of looking at this war, are beginning to come together--that troops are necessary sometimes in some places where military action alone will not win the war but is certainly necessary, and that partners are a good thing.
I have come to conclude that when it comes to the war on terrorism, I would rather fight it in the enemy's backyard than ours. I would rather have partners than do it alone. I think the decision today by the President--and I think it was his alone--is disastrous to our own national security and those 2,200 whom Senator Shaheen talked about and the great job they have done; that by withdrawing them, we have basically taken a part of the wall down and have now an open-border policy when it comes to ISIS in Syria; that the consequence of this decision makes it far more likely that there will be a corridor from Tehran into Lebanon and to Hezbollah. Our presence there made it more difficult to the Iranians.
Who would be celebrating this decision? Everybody whom we hate likes what is going on. The Russians are up to no good all over the world. Their statement says everything you need to know about this decision. The only reason they are not dancing in Tehran and ISIS camps is they just don't believe in dancing. They are as happy as they will ever be-- and they are not into being happy.
To the President, you won the election. You beat me and many others. You have the right to make this decision, but the Congress has the duty to hold you accountable. I wish we had done more of this in a bipartisan fashion when President Obama withdrew from Iraq. If I am nothing, I am consistent. I want this President to be successful. I will help him at every turn.
Generally speaking, I am very pleased with his domestic policy and most of the time his foreign policy. I am shocked by this. I think this is a decision that is against sound military advice. I intend to do our part as a Congress to make sure that history records how this decision was made.
There is a clear record that President Obama's decision to withdraw from Iraq and not leave a residual force proved to be wrong and was against military advice at that time. I have yet to find one person in the administration of the national security team who thinks this decision was a good decision. This was made against sound military advice.
I don't think ``General Trump'' is going to be any better than ``General Obama.'' I don't think ``General Graham'' is the answer to this problem. I think those who are in the fight, who have been doing it for 17 years--the national security team the President has--are the experts. Mr. President, if you don't like them or trust them, fire them. What you have done, in my view, is set us back.
The chatter out there is pretty disturbing. I talked with General Mattis today. It is pretty clear that the ripple effect of this is going to be as bad as we think it will be.
To our Kurdish partners, I am sorry. I don't support this decision, and I am hoping it will change.
President Trump, leadership is about adjusting and being able to change your mind when circumstances warrant it. I am not saying we need to be in Syria forever. I am saying now is not the time to leave, and Senator Shaheen made a very compelling case about conditions on the ground.
The winners are Russia, Iran, ISIS, and Assad. The losers are the Kurdish people, who came to our aid when almost nobody would. The Arabs who are part of the Syrian Democratic Forces are big-time losers. I can only imagine what it is like tonight in Manbij.
I saw in the eyes of the people that we were partnered with, hope and trust: America is here. America is good. Maybe our suffering is over.
When I look at the flag and the soldiers who wear it on their sleeve, we are not a perfect country, but we are a damn good country. What makes us a good people is that we do the hard things.
We are not the policemen of the world. I understand that, but we are the glue that holds this world together. We have betrayed our Kurdish allies if this decision stands. If it is reversed, I will be the first one to applaud the President because that is true leadership. To those who say that we have defeated ISIS in Syria, that is an inaccurate statement. They have been hurt. They have been degraded.
I give the President all the credit in the world for changing our policies regarding the fight against ISIS, but I will not buy into the narrative that they have been defeated in Syria and Iraq.
I just got back from Afghanistan and haven't slept in 2 days. I really appreciate the chance to visit our troops and talk to our generals, but, sure as hell, ISIS is not defeated in Afghanistan. So to say they are defeated is an overstatement, and it is fake news. It is not true. They have been severely damaged, but they will come back unless we are there to stop it.
I don't intend to outsource our national security to any foreign power. This idea that Turkey is going to be the good guy, that Turkey is going to come into Syria and protect us against the rise of ISIS, is just crazy. What Turkey is going to do is unleash holy hell on the Kurds. In the eyes of Turkey, they are more of a threat than ISIS.
This decision is a disaster on multiple fronts, and I hope it can be changed. There is a resolution urging the President to make a withdrawal decision based on conditions on the ground after a vigorous interagency process.
Mr. President, I, too, want our troops to come home, but I don't want to tell the American people that we are secure when I don't believe we are. And what is odd is that the troops who are actually doing the fighting believe in this more than anybody. They were proud to be partners with the Kurds. Most of them had been to Iraq and Afghanistan numerous times and were heartbroken when we left Iraq and all of the gains lost. Many of them went back to the fight to take it yet again.
So to the body who loves the troops, that is good. The American people respect our troops. If you truly love them, let them win. They are not asking to come home. They do this voluntarily. They understand why they are there. They understand the benefits of being there.
I know it must be tough as Commander in Chief to write a letter to the family of the fallen. I know it is a hard decision for any President to make to put people in harm's way, but I just want the President to understand that the troops who do this embrace their mission and believe they are defending their Nation and protecting their families. They accept the risk. If we do follow through with this withdrawal, I am afraid Americans all over the world and here at home are going to be more at risk, not less.
I can't imagine winning this war without allies. If this decision stands, I can't imagine being able to sign up many people in the future to serve with us to defeat enemies that threaten us after today. What hurts so much is to have been on the ground--to see it get bad, to see it get better--and to look into the eyes of the people who are willing to fight with us and see the hope they have that we are finally here.
It hurts so much to know that everybody that we talked to in Manbij-- many of them--are going to get killed. They did the honorable thing to come to our aid, to help destroy a common enemy of mankind, ISIS. We have been dishonorable. This is a stain on the honor of the United States.
I hope and pray the President will reconsider this. I know that every National Security Advisor understands that the time is not right to withdraw, that the situation described by Senator Shaheen as to what will happen is more likely than not.
If he does not decide to reconsider, then it will be incumbent upon the Congress to speak and hold him accountable. If you are concerned about today's decision as a Member of the Senate, please join this resolution. It is very evenly worded. We all want the troops to come home, but we want to make sure they come home with honor and that the conditions warrant them leaving.
Right now, we are withdrawing in a dishonorable fashion. We are putting our own Nation more at risk. Just as sure as I am on the floor of the Senate, ISIS will reemerge, and all those who helped us are going to be in jeopardy. It will be harder to get allies in the future. As for these 700 prisoners who were captured on the battlefield, we will hear from them again.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. GRAHAM. Yes.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. GRAHAM. One of two things will happen. No. 1, the Syrian Democratic Forces had a very ethical view of treating prisoners. I was astonished at the compliance with law and their desire to take their enemies and treat them better than they were treated. The jail was, quite frankly, very impressive.
Here is what is going to happen. They are going to shoot them or they are going to get out. If Assad takes over before Turkey gets there, they will kill everybody in the jail. So what does it matter if a bunch of ISIS fighters get killed? It is about us. Once they are captured, it matters how we treat them. I want them tried. I want them held off the battlefield. We are not executioners. But the most likely scenario is that ISIS reemerges and they break out.
I promise the President this--and I told President Obama the same thing--if you will stick with it and listen to the generals, no matter whether it hurts me or not, we will be with you. We will give you the political support a Republican can give a Democrat to see this thing through. I promise the President one thing: I will help you where I can, but I am going to hold you accountable. I am going to do everything in my power--if you don't change this decision--to make sure you own it, so the next President will learn from your mistakes.
I yield.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Source