November 20, 2019
Panel Discussion: Repairing the Damage: The future of U.S. relations with Syrian Kurdish partners and the fight against ISIS
I am truly pleased to drop by and spend a few moments with you today. And I want to begin by thanking you for taking the time to come and thanking you for making your voice heard and your opinions known. We truly appreciate this and we think it is important. We love the fact that we have the diaspora there in Nashville and then say a wonderful community. President Ahmed is so good to see you. Thank you all for being in the office yesterday and allowing us to continue to work with you. We do appreciate the opportunity to do that. And as Senator van Hollen said, this is something that we have worked together on and in a bi-panel, bipartisan manner. When people say things have not done in bipartisan manner, well there are somethings we have done, and the support for the Kurds is one, one of those. Just a couple of thoughts before I leave you all to your panel, which I think is going to be absolutely fantastic, and your further discussion. What we know is that Turkey and Russia executed their eighth patrol on Monday. We know that that is continuing. We are quite concerned with where this may lead us or what it may mean and very concerned with the reports that we are hearing that even though Edogan said he wasn’t going to go into Kobani and then he may go in. We are quite concerned about that and I think it’s important for Turkey and Russia to know that we are indeed watching and we are paying close attention, to what is happening. Their actions are unacceptable. The legislation that Senator van Hollen spoke about, is something that helps to send that message. Putting sanctions in place is something that we should do if they persist. Because their actions do cause problems not only for the Kurds but they cause problems for the United States. We’re concerned to with airstrikes and we know this means either protecting the Kurds from the air or closing the airspace. Our attention will continue to be focused there. We are keeping an eye on the oil fields that are there East of the Euphrates and, we certainly want to make sure that the issues are addressed and that the Kurds have the opportunity to take possession of those oil fields and benefit from that. I do understand and appreciate that something that is a revenue stream. We are Mindful and watchful.
One of the things that I think is important to realize in this entire process as it is discussed, what Turkey and Russia are doing causes not just military but diplomatic chaos. We know what happens when diplomatic chaos exist. ISIS will continue to push forward. They appreciate instability because it allows them to move in. We’re very concerned about prisoners being released. The 80,000 that the SDF is currently holding and the news that came out of the breakdown of defenses plan. This is information that was picked up through Iraq, and it was about an ISIS plan to move forward with releasing these prisoners. We are watching what will happen with that and know that the SDF may need help as we look at this issue because it’s not just in Syria or a Syrian Kurd issue this is the whole MidEast issue. And even pushing into the horn of Africa when I was DjiboutiI and Mogadishu last weekend. As you look at how ISIS has metastasized and how they are utilizing proxies to destabilize. We realize how vitally important It is for us to continue to support the Kurds to make certain that prisoners are not released and that further destabilization does not take place. Whether it is Nigeria, whether it is the work with Al Shabaab, Boka Haram or ISIS. Just making certain that we continue to provide for protection and for stability and that we remember who our allies are in this fight. And the Kurds have been a consistent ally. Thank you for letting me drop by and visit with you for a few minutes.