Republican senator slams lawmakers on US Syria move

By Servet Gunerigok

WASHINGTON (AA) - Republican Senator Rand Paul slammed Senator Lindsey Graham and congresswoman Liz Cheney as the "neocon War Caucus" for their criticism on U.S. troop withdrawal from northern Syria.

"The Cheney/Graham neocon War Caucus wants to come back to DC and declare a war. My question for them is - who will you declare it on?" Paul tweeted. "Will it be out NATO allies the Turks? Will it be Assad? Will it be Islamic rebels? Which ones?"

Earlier, the two Republican lawmakers raised criticism after U.S. President Donald Trump announced Washington would pull back troops where Turkey began a peace operation to clear the region of terrorists.

On Sunday, the White House said U.S. troops "will no longer be in the immediate area."

Paul alleged actors in Syria wanted to "keep starting endless wars in conflicts that go back hundreds of years."

He praised Trump as the first president in his life to "understand what is our national interest and what is not."

"He is stopping the endless wars and we will be stronger as a result. The Cheney/Graham Neocon War Caucus has cost us too much fighting endless wars," Paul wrote.

Turkey launched Operation Peace Spring east of the Euphrates River in northern Syria on Wednesday to secure its borders by eliminating terror elements to ensure the safe return of Syrian refugees and Syria’s territorial integrity.

Turkey has said the terror group PKK and its extension the YPG/PYD constitute the biggest threat to Syria’s future, jeopardizing the country’s territorial integrity and unitary structure.