TURKEY AND SYRIA; Congressional Record Vol. 165, No. 167

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TURKEY AND SYRIA

Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, on another matter, I opposed

President Trump's decision to withdraw U.S. troops from Syria so I am

encouraged by press reports that his administration is considering

retaining a military presence in that country to keep the pressure on

ISIS.

Since September 11, our Nation has learned several key lessons about

the fight against radical Islamic terrorism.

The terrorist threat cannot be wished away. The terrorists mean us

harm, and we cannot allow them to establish safe havens and solidify

their networks. When they do, the bloodshed ends up right here on our

shores.

American leadership is essential. We have seen our partners and

allies step up and take on important roles. In fact, as we speak,

France is playing a leading role in the African Sahel, but just about

every place President Obama tried to \\\`\\\`lead from behind'' provides

tragic reminders that there are

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certain kinds of leadership only America can contribute.

Fortunately, we are not in this alone. The huge progress we have won

in recent years against ISIS and the Taliban has come by partnering

with local forces, with support from a broad international coalition.

America has only provided limited specialized capabilities to reinforce

the local partners that do the heaviest lifting. This approach is

sustainable.

Unfortunately, we know exactly what happens when America forgets

these lessons and simply decides we are tired of sustaining the fight.

Abandoning Afghanistan in the 1990s helped create the conditions for

al-Qaida's ability to grow and plan the September 11 attacks from a

safe haven far from our shores. President Obama's retreat from Iraq

allowed ISIS to rise from the still-warm ashes of al-Qaida in Iraq.

If not arrested, withdrawing from Syria will invite more of the chaos

that breeds terrorism and creates a vacuum our adversaries will

certainly fill.

It will invite the brutal Assad regime to reassert its oppressive

control over northeastern Syria, repressing Sunni Arab communities and

creating the same conditions that led to ISIS's growth in the first

place.

Russia will gain more leverage to amass power and influence

throughout the Middle East, project power into the Mediterranean, and

even promote its interests in Africa.

Iran-backed forces could have access to a strategic corridor that

runs all the way from Tehran to the very doorstep of Israel.

So where do we go from here? Many of us in the Senate were ahead of

the game on the need to reaffirm American global leadership in the

ongoing fight against radical terror. At the beginning of this year, a

bipartisan supermajority of Senators warned about exactly this course

of events. The McConnell amendment to \[S. 1\](https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/senate-bill/1) earned 70 votes back in

February. We specifically warned against a precipitous withdrawal from

either Afghanistan or Syria and noted the need for an American

presence. Congress should affirm--actually, reaffirm--the same truths

today, and we should do so strongly.

Unfortunately, the resolution crafted by House Democrats is simply

not sufficient. It is not so much wrong as it is badly insufficient. It

focuses solely on the Kurds, ignoring the critical Sunni-Arab community

that suffered under both Assad's regime and ISIS and vulnerable

minority communities like the Christian Arabs of Syria. The House was

silent on the key matter of maintaining an actual physical U.S.

military presence in Syria.

Perhaps the goal was to paper over disagreements within the

Democratic Party. After all, our colleague, the senior Senator from

Massachusetts, recently told a national television audience--this is

the senior Senator from Massachusetts--\\\`\\\`I think that we ought to get

out of the Middle East.'' \\\`\\\`I think we ought to get out of the Middle

East,'' said the senior Senator from Massachusetts, and almost all of

our Democratic colleagues currently running for President refused to

sign on to the McConnell amendment that earned 70 votes earlier this

year.

We can't afford to dance around the critical question of a U.S.

presence in Syria and the Middle East for the sake of Democratic

Presidential primary politics. The Senate needs to speak up. We cannot

effectively support our partners on the ground without a military

presence. Senators who thought we should withdraw from Syria and

Afghanistan in February do not get to criticize President Trump for

withdrawing from Syria today unless they go on the record, admit they

changed their minds, and say it is too dangerous to quit.

So, today, along with Chairman Inhofe, Chairman Risch, Chairman Burr,

and Senator Graham, I am introducing a stronger resolution that

acknowledges hard truths and focuses on our strategic interests in the

Middle East.

Our resolution acknowledges the vital role our Kurdish and Arab

Syrian partners have played in rooting out and destroying the ISIS

caliphate. It condemns Turkey's decision to escalate hostilities in

Syria, warns against the abandonment of our allies and partners in

Syria, and urges President Trump to rethink his invitation for

President Erdogan to visit the White House.

It also acknowledges Turkey's legitimate national security concerns

emanating from the conflict in Syria and the significant risks to the

United States if such a strategically consequential ally were to fall

further into Moscow's orbit. It recognizes the grave consequences of

U.S. withdrawal: the rising influence of Russia, Iran, and the Assad

regime and the escape of more than 100 ISIS-affiliated fighters

detained in the region.

We specifically urge the President to end--end the drawdown,

something that, fortunately, appears to be underway. We urge a

reengagement with our partners in this region. We highlight the need

for international diplomatic efforts to end the underlying civil wars

in Syria and Afghanistan on terms that address the conditions that have

allowed al-Qaida and ISIS to thrive. We cannot repeat this mistake in

Afghanistan.

I am aware there is some appetite on both sides of the aisle to

quickly reach for the toolbox of sanctions. I myself played a critical

role in creating sanction regimes in the past, but I caution us against

developing a reflex to use sanctions as our tool of first, last, and

only resort in implementing our foreign policy. Sanctions may play an

important role in this process, and I am open to the Senate considering

them, but we need to think extremely carefully before we employ the

same tools against a democratic NATO ally that we would against the

worst rogue state.

Do we know what political impacts such sanctions will have inside

Turkey? Will they weaken President Erdogan or rally the country to his

cause? Do we know the impact sanctions will have on U.S. companies or

on the economies of our closest allies that have deeply integrated

their economies with Turkey?

If we are going to use sanctions against a democratic ally, we are

going to have to be careful. We are going to have to be smart. We are

going to have to be thoughtful and deliberate. We don't want to further

drive a NATO ally into the arms of the Russians.

Serious conversations about the use of sanctions must involve our

colleagues on the Foreign Relations, Banking, and Finance Committees to

ensure that this tool is used correctly.

The most important thing the Senate can do right now is speak clearly

and reaffirm the core principles that unite most of us, Republicans and

Democrats, about the proper role for American leadership in Syria, in

the Middle East, and, for that matter, in the world.

We hope the damage in Syria can be undone, but perhaps, even more

importantly, we absolutely must take steps so the same mistakes--the

same mistakes are not repeated in Iraq or Afghanistan.

I feel confident that my resolution is a strong and sorely needed

step. I feel confident my colleagues will agree, and I urge them to

join me.

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