Senators Chris Van Hollen and Lindsay Graham have joined together on legislation threatening sanctions on Turkey over potential military action by that country or groups that it backs in northern Syria. On Friday, they introduced the “Countering Turkish Aggression Act of 2024” (when is someone going to sponsor the “Countering American Aggression Act”?) in the hope the sanctions threat would move the parties toward a ceasefire, reported Reuters. But they said Washington should work with Turkey diplomatically to facilitate a sustained ceasefire and demilitarized zone between Turkey and Syria.
“These sanctions seek to prevent further Turkish or Turkish-backed attacks on the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which risk the re-emergence of ISIS (the Islamic State militant movement), threatening the national security of the U.S. and the rest of the globe,” they said in a statement.
Just what the world needs—more sanctions!
