US Senator Pushes Bill to Protect Kurds in Syria

Veteran US Senator Lindsey Graham, alongside Senator Richard Blumenthal, has introduced the “Save the Kurds Act” in response to a large-scale offensive by Syrian government forces and allied armed groups against Kurdish-held areas in northeastern Syria.

The legislation aims to protect the Kurdish population in northeastern Syria, whom Graham champions as “reliable allies” who bore the brunt of the ground fight against ISIS.

A Syrian military offensive has already displaced an estimated 100,000 people, mostly Kurds, as forces advanced into territories in Aleppo, Deir ez-Zor, Raqqa, and near Hasaka.

Graham argues that attacking the Kurds diminishes US standing and hinders Syria’s future, warning adversaries that targeting US allies will not be without consequence.

The bill seeks to formalize US support and obligation to the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the primary US ground ally in the decade-long campaign against ISIS.