Syria war: ‘They will be slaughtered!’ Senator Graham warns USA troops must STAY

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Lindsey Graham suggested withdrawing US troops from Syria could spiral the war-torn nation into worse conditions that would threaten local democratic fighters.

Speaking to C-SPAN following a private all-senator meeting, the Republican politician voiced concerns about possible military intervention from ISIS and Turkey which would potentially

"slaughter: Kurd and Arab forces.

Senator Graham said: "I believe ISIS can never be destroyed unless there is a credible holding force.

"Some Americans need to be part of that holding force because if we learned anything from Iraq is that if you leave without an adequate holding force they come back.

"My biggest concern is that the day we leave, the Syrian democratic forces made up of Arabs and Kurds are going to be exposed. I’m afraid that if we leave without some American presence that

Turkey will continue the fight against the Kurds and you are going to wind up with people slaughtered who stood up to help America."

The senator also revealed the United States lacked an approved military strategy on how to protect Syria from the "malign influence" of Russia – a keen supporter of dictator Bashar Assad –

and Iran.

He continued: "There is no military strategy on the table to deal with the malign influence of Iran and Russia.

"What I think is going to happen is that diplomacy will fail, Assad for all political purposes has won the civil war. What’s going to happen inside of Syria is going to be an armed camp of

Hezbollah and Iranian military people that will present a threat to Israel.

You are going to wind up with people slaughtered who stood up to help America

"If we stay on the course we are on now, Syria will fall in the hands of the Russians, the Iranians and Assad which would be a nightmare for Israel, the region as a whole and the destruction

of ISIS strategy is really not practical."

Senator Graham's comments come after it was revealed US President Donald Trump had doubled efforts to replace US troops currently based in Syria with an Arab force.

Plans for the creation of a pan-Arab military coalition to combat extremists and limit Iranian influence on Syria first emerged in 2015 but Saudi foreign minister Adel al-Jubeir signalled

his Government has now renewed talks on the issue with President Trump.

Mr Trump's press secretary Sarah Sanders said: "The US mission has not changed - the President has been clear that he wants US forces to come home as quickly as possible.

"We are determined to completely crush ISIS and create the conditions that will prevent its return. In addition we expect our regional allies and partners to take greater responsibility both

militarily and financially for securing the region."

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