U.S. President Donald Trump has ordered a slowdown to the withdrawal of U.S. forces in Syria, Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham said Sunday.
"I think we're in a pause situation," the South Carolina Republican said outside the White House after lunch with the president.
Trump announced earlier this month that he was ordering the withdrawal of all the roughly 2,000 troops from war-torn Syria, with aides expecting it to take place swiftly. The president had declared victory over the Islamic State group in Syria, though pockets of fighting remain.
Graham had warned that removing all 2,000 U.S. troops from Syria would hurt national security by allowing Islamic State to rebuild, betraying U.S.-backed Kurdish fighters of the YPG militia battling remnants of the militant group and enhancing Iran's ability to threaten Israel.
"We talked about Syria. He told me some things I didn't know that made me feel a lot better about where we're headed in Syria," Graham, an influential voice on national security policy who sits on the Senate Armed Services Committee, told reporters at the White House.
"We still have some differences, but I will tell you that the president is thinking long and hard about Syria – how to withdraw our forces but at the same time achieve our national security interests," Graham said.
Asked if Trump had agreed to any slowing down of the troop withdrawal, Graham said: "I think the president's very committed to making sure that when we leave Syria, that ISIS is completely defeated."
He said Trump's trip to Iraq last week was an eye-opener and he understood the need to "finish the job" with Islamic State.
"I think the president has come up with a plan with his generals that makes sense to me," Graham said.
Graham had been an outspoken critic of Trump's decision, which had drawn bipartisan criticism. The announcement also had shocked lawmakers and American allies, including Kurds who have fought alongside the U.S. against the Islamic State group and face an expected assault by Turkey.
"I think we're slowing things down in a smart way," Graham said, adding that Trump was very aware of the plight of the Kurds.
Critics had contended that the U.S. withdrawal would embolden Iran and Russia, which have supported the government of Syrian President Bashar Assad.
Graham told reporters that Trump was committed to making sure Turkey did not clash with the Kurdish YPG forces once U.S. troops leave Syria, and was assuring the NATO ally that it would have a buffer zone in the region to help protect its own interests.
Graham said later on Twitter that Trump would make sure that any withdrawal from Syria "will be done in a fashion to ensure: 1) ISIS is permanently destroyed 2) Iran doesn't fill in the back end. And 3) our Kurdish allies are protected."
The Pentagon says it is considering plans for a "deliberate and controlled withdrawal." One option, according to a person familiar with the discussions, is for a 120-day pullout period.
Ankara views the YPG as a branch of the Kurdish separatist movement inside Turkey and is threatening to launch an offensive against the group, igniting fears of significant civilian casualties.
U.S. commanders planning the U.S. withdrawal are recommending that YPG fighters battling Islamic State be allowed to keep U.S.-supplied weapons, according to U.S. officials.
The proposal would likely anger Turkey.
Trump decided on the Syria withdrawal in a phone call with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, ignoring the advice of top national security aides and without consulting lawmakers or U.S. allies participating in anti-Islamic State operations. The decision prompted Defense Secretary Jim Mattis to resign .
U.S. national security adviser John Bolton was expected to travel to Israel and Turkey next weekend to discuss the president's plans with the American allies.
During his appearance on CNN's "State of the Union," Graham previewed his arguments to Trump for reconsidering the Syria pullout.
"I'm going to ask him to sit down with his generals and reconsider how to do this. Slow this down. Make sure that we get it right. Make sure ISIS never comes back. Don't turn Syria over to the Iranians. That's a nightmare for Israel," Graham said.
"And, at the end of the day, if we leave the Kurds and abandon them and they get slaughtered, who's going to help you in the future?" he said. "I want to fight the war in the enemy's backyard, not ours. That's why we need a forward-deployed force in Iraq and Syria and Afghanistan for a while to come."
