Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) is introducing the “Save the Kurds Act” as violence escalates in northern Syria, proposing “crippling sanctions” against any group attacking Kurdish populations. Graham said turning America’s back on the Kurds, who played a central role in the destruction of the ISIS caliphate, would be a catastrophic blow to U.S. national security and its global reputation.
“Watching the deteriorating situation in Syria with great concern,” Graham stated. “The Kurds are under threat from the new Syrian government that is aligned with Turkey. It would be a disaster for America’s reputation and national security interests to abandon the Kurds, who were the chief ally in destroying the ISIS caliphate. Therefore, I will be introducing legislation this week designed to impose crippling sanctions on any government or group engaged in hostilities against the Kurds. The Save the Kurds Act, I believe, will receive strong bipartisan support and must have teeth to make it effective. Stay tuned.”
Watching the deteriorating situation in Syria with great concern. The Kurds are under threat from the new Syrian government that is aligned with Turkey.
It would be a disaster for America’s reputation and national security interests to abandon the Kurds, who were the chief ally…
— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) January 27, 2026
This legislative push comes as the Kurds face a renewed existential threat from a Turkish-aligned Syrian government led by Ahmed al-Sharaa.
The Kurdish commitment to regional stability peaked between 2014 and 2019. Following the fall of Mosul in 2014 and the horrific massacre of thousands of Yazidis in Sinjar, Kurdish forces became the “boots on the ground” for the U.S.-led Global Coalition against ISIS. The YPG/YPJ in Syria and the Peshmerga in Iraq held a front line stretching roughly 1,000 kilometers. Key victories, such as the grueling siege of Kobane and the 2017 liberation of the ISIS capital, Raqqa, culminated in the 2019 defeat of the territorial caliphate in Baghouz. Despite these sacrifices, the Kurds now face a “nightmare reminiscent of 2014,” with ISIS elements re-emerging amid the chaos created by the new Syrian offensive.
The current crisis is the latest chapter in a long history of systemic persecution across the Middle East.
Following the 1979 Revolution, Kurdish hopes for autonomy were crushed when Ayatollah Khomeini declared a “holy war,” leading to thousands of executions. Even today, the Iranian regime utilizes heavy weaponry to suppress Kurdish-led movements, such as the 2022 “Woman, Life, Freedom” protests.
For more than a century, Turkey has pursued aggressive assimilation policies toward its Kurdish population, at times banning the Kurdish language and labeling Kurds “Mountain Turks.” Turkey views Syrian Kurdish forces as terrorists, leading to multiple military incursions and the current support of the Sharaa government’s offensive.
Recent reports describe horrific war crimes committed by Islamist militias, including the summary execution and beheading of Kurdish fighters. In Raqqa, snipers have reportedly targeted civilians, while thousands of ISIS detainees have escaped from facilities like Shaddadi and Al-Hol, creating a “security vacuum.”
The Kurds currently find themselves betrayed by a shifting geopolitical map. After Washington previously signaled that the Kurdish role had “expired,” Sen. Graham’s proposed sanctions aim to provide the “teeth” necessary to prevent a total ethnic cleansing. Without international intervention, the Kurds remain trapped between a hostile Syrian regime, a Turkish military offensive, and a lingering “ghost caliphate” of ISIS fighters seeking a bloody resurgence.
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