Vakkas Dogantekin
16 October 2019•Update: 17 October 2019
ANKARA
U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham mocked the manners of his country's president, revealing a rift and deteriorating personal relations about their policy differences with regards to Turkey.
"Listening to Democrats talk about how to create jobs … would be like buying a Book of Manners written by President @realdonaldtrump. Not a good idea," tweeted the Republican senator while watching the Democratic debate late Tuesday.
Trump and Graham have been at odds ever since the president announced a U.S. troop withdrawal from Syria, vowing to "end endless wars" that cost American taxpayers "trillions of dollars" in the Middle East.
Graham, along with Democratic lawmakers, fiercely opposed Trump's withdrawal decision that came as a shock to the PKK/YPG terror group ahead of a Turkish military operation in northern Syria.
An astonished user in social media, was prompted to ask: "OMG, did you two break up?"
Turkey last week launched Operation Peace Spring, the third of its kind since the start of Syrian war, to secure its borders by eliminating terrorists there and to ensure the safe return of Syrian refugees and Syria’s territorial integrity.
Graham has taken a U-turn on his PKK/YPG terror group policy, suddenly calling it U.S. allies last week after grilling a defense chief of former President Barack Obama in 2016 for working with the same group at the expense of Turkey.
While Turkey's move was hailed by millions of displaced Syrian refugees across the world, Turkic countries and many Muslim nations, Western governments have slammed Ankara’s counter-terror operation and favored a designated terror group over a sovereign NATO ally.
Ankara plans to resettle 2 million Syrians in a 30-kilometer wide (19-mile) proposed safe zone in Syria, stretching from the Euphrates River to the Iraqi border, including Manbij. However, the presence of terror groups such as the PKK, PYD, and YPG risk its formation.
In its more than 30-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK -- listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the European Union -- has been responsible for the deaths of 40,000 people, including women, children and infants.
