Lindsey Graham suggested withdrawing US troops from Syria could spiral the war-torn nation into worse conditions that would threaten local democratic fighters. Speaking to C-SPAN following a private all-senator meeting, the Republican politician voiced concerns about possible military intervention from ISIS and Turkey which would potentially "slaughter: Kurd and Arab forces. Senator Graham said: "I believe ISIS can never be destroyed unless there is a credible holding force. "Some Americans need to be part of that holding force because if we learned anything from Iraq is that if you leave without an adequate holding force they come back.

"My biggest concern is that the day we leave, the Syrian democratic forces made up of Arabs and Kurds are going to be exposed. I’m afraid that if we leave without some American presence that Turkey will continue the fight against the Kurds and you are going to wind up with people slaughtered who stood up to help America." The senator also revealed the United States lacked an approved military strategy on how to protect Syria from the "malign influence" of Russia – a keen supporter of dictator Bashar Assad – and Iran. He continued: "There is no military strategy on the table to deal with the malign influence of Iran and Russia. "What I think is going to happen is that diplomacy will fail, Assad for all political purposes has won the civil war. What’s going to happen inside of Syria is going to be an armed camp of Hezbollah and Iranian military people that will present a threat to Israel.

"If we stay on the course we are on now, Syria will fall in the hands of the Russians, the Iranians and Assad which would be a nightmare for Israel, the region as a whole and the destruction of ISIS strategy is really not practical." Senator Graham's comments come after it was revealed US President Donald Trump had doubled efforts to replace US troops currently based in Syria with an Arab force. Plans for the creation of a pan-Arab military coalition to combat extremists and limit Iranian influence on Syria first emerged in 2015 but Saudi foreign minister Adel al-Jubeir signalled his Government has now renewed talks on the issue with President Trump. Mr Trump's press secretary Sarah Sanders said: "The US mission has not changed - the President has been clear that he wants US forces to come home as quickly as possible. "We are determined to completely crush ISIS and create the conditions that will prevent its return. In addition we expect our regional allies and partners to take greater responsibility both militarily and financially for securing the region."</s>Wisconsin Republican Sen. Ron Johnson said Thursday morning that it's too early to say whether he'll support a re-election bid for Donald Trump in 2020, adding to a growing list of conservatives on Capitol Hill who are holding out their endorsements for their party's President.

"It's way too early to be talking about 2020," Johnson told CNN's "New Day" co-anchor Chris Cuomo. "It could be a completely different world by 2020. We have a 2018 election first."

Johnson called the prompt for Trump's endorsement a "gotcha question," adding that he thinks "it's unusual that members of the media would be talking about the 2020 election in 2018."

Johnson joins a wide array for House and Senate GOP members not yet ready to endorse Trump. CNN reported Thursday that Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn, Tennessee Sen. Lamar Alexander and South Carolina Rep. Mark Sanford are among the Republicans who are holding out their official support for Trump in 2020.</s>North Korea have engaged Donald Trump in talks because they are “afraid” revealed US Senator, Lindsey Graham. Senator Lindsey Graham for South Carolina said: “The only reason that they are at the table is because they are afraid of Donald Trump. “Donald Trump has done a heck of a job of convincing North Korea that he is serious when he says that he will never let them hit the Homeland with a nuclear weapon. “Every president before him was played by North Korea.”

This comes after President Trump revealed CIA Director Mike Pompeo had met with Kim to lay the groundwork for a possible meeting between the two leaders. Mr Trump stated the pair formed a “good relationship” during their time together. The US president took to Twitter to reveal to a secret meeting, which comes ahead of a proposed face-to-face meeting between Mr Trump and Kim. Mr Trump tweeted: “Mike Pompeo met with Kim Jong Un in North Korea last week. Meeting went very smoothly and a good relationship was formed. Details of Summit are being worked out now.” Senator Graham added: “The only reason they are at the table is because of the fire and fury rhetoric.

“They believe that Trump if he had to as a last resort would use military force if forced to protect America. “We are here at a moment of tremendous historic opportunity. “Trump has said that he will walk away if I have to and he won’t go if he doesn’t think it will be worth his time. “I think President Trump has a chance not only to get North Korea to give up their nuclear weapons but also end the Korean war.” The US president took to Twitter to reveal to a secret meeting, which comes ahead of a proposed face-to-face meeting between Mr Trump and Kim. Mr Trump tweeted: “Mike Pompeo met with Kim Jong Un in North Korea last week. Meeting went very smoothly and a good relationship was formed. Details of Summit are being worked out now.”</s>Political Reporter

Caitlin Byrd is a political reporter at The Post and Courier and author of the Palmetto Politics newsletter. Before moving to Charleston in 2016, her byline appeared in the Asheville Citizen-Times. To date, Byrd has won 17 awards for her work.</s>North Korea have engaged Donald Trump in talks because they are “afraid” revealed US Senator, Lindsey Graham. Senator Lindsey Graham for South Carolina said: “The only reason that they are at the table is because they are afraid of Donald Trump. “Donald Trump has done a heck of a job of convincing North Korea that he is serious when he says that he will never let them hit the Homeland with a nuclear weapon. “Every president before him was played by North Korea.”

This comes after President Trump revealed CIA Director Mike Pompeo had met with Kim to lay the groundwork for a possible meeting between the two leaders. Mr Trump stated the pair formed a “good relationship” during their time together. The US president took to Twitter to reveal to a secret meeting, which comes ahead of a proposed face-to-face meeting between Mr Trump and Kim. Mr Trump tweeted: “Mike Pompeo met with Kim Jong Un in North Korea last week. Meeting went very smoothly and a good relationship was formed. Details of Summit are being worked out now.” Senator Graham added: “The only reason they are at the table is because of the fire and fury rhetoric.

“They believe that Trump if he had to as a last resort would use military force if forced to protect America. “We are here at a moment of tremendous historic opportunity. “Trump has said that he will walk away if I have to and he won’t go if he doesn’t think it will be worth his time. “I think President Trump has a chance not only to get North Korea to give up their nuclear weapons but also end the Korean war.” The US president took to Twitter to reveal to a secret meeting, which comes ahead of a proposed face-to-face meeting between Mr Trump and Kim. Mr Trump tweeted: “Mike Pompeo met with Kim Jong Un in North Korea last week. Meeting went very smoothly and a good relationship was formed. Details of Summit are being worked out now.”</s>Lindsey Graham suggested withdrawing US troops from Syria could spiral the war-torn nation into worse conditions that would threaten local democratic fighters. Speaking to C-SPAN following a private all-senator meeting, the Republican politician voiced concerns about possible military intervention from ISIS and Turkey which would potentially "slaughter: Kurd and Arab forces. Senator Graham said: "I believe ISIS can never be destroyed unless there is a credible holding force. "Some Americans need to be part of that holding force because if we learned anything from Iraq is that if you leave without an adequate holding force they come back.

"My biggest concern is that the day we leave, the Syrian democratic forces made up of Arabs and Kurds are going to be exposed. I’m afraid that if we leave without some American presence that Turkey will continue the fight against the Kurds and you are going to wind up with people slaughtered who stood up to help America." The senator also revealed the United States lacked an approved military strategy on how to protect Syria from the "malign influence" of Russia – a keen supporter of dictator Bashar Assad – and Iran. He continued: "There is no military strategy on the table to deal with the malign influence of Iran and Russia. "What I think is going to happen is that diplomacy will fail, Assad for all political purposes has won the civil war. What’s going to happen inside of Syria is going to be an armed camp of Hezbollah and Iranian military people that will present a threat to Israel.

"If we stay on the course we are on now, Syria will fall in the hands of the Russians, the Iranians and Assad which would be a nightmare for Israel, the region as a whole and the destruction of ISIS strategy is really not practical." Senator Graham's comments come after it was revealed US President Donald Trump had doubled efforts to replace US troops currently based in Syria with an Arab force. Plans for the creation of a pan-Arab military coalition to combat extremists and limit Iranian influence on Syria first emerged in 2015 but Saudi foreign minister Adel al-Jubeir signalled his Government has now renewed talks on the issue with President Trump. Mr Trump's press secretary Sarah Sanders said: "The US mission has not changed - the President has been clear that he wants US forces to come home as quickly as possible. "We are determined to completely crush ISIS and create the conditions that will prevent its return. In addition we expect our regional allies and partners to take greater responsibility both militarily and financially for securing the region."</s>RINO Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), and his bud John McCain, are known neo-cons, aka warmongers for Israel.

Two days ago, on April 16, 2018, Graham criticized the Trump Administration’s April 14 firing of 105 missiles at Syrian government targets over an alleged, wholly unverified chemical attack in Douma, a suburb of Damascas (more on this latest Syrian crisis later, in a post to come).

Graham criticized President Trump for not doing enough, calling the bombing a “major step backwards” because the missile-strikes had failed to weaken Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his government.

A lifelong bachelor, RINO Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) is long rumored to be homosexual.

As an example, in a speech at a TEA Party event in Greenville, SC on April 17, 2010, William Gheen, President of Americans for Legal Immigration (ALIPAC), said:

“US Senator Lindsey Graham is gay and while many people in South Carolina and Washington DC know that, the general public and Graham’s constituents do not. I personally do not care about Graham’s private life, but in this situation his desire to keep this a secret may explain why he is doing a lot of political dirty work for others who have the power to reveal his secrets. Senator Graham needs to come out of the closet inside that log cabin so the public can rest assured he is not being manipulated with his secret.”

Now Wayne Madsen, who calls himself America’s foremost “independent” journalist, publicly declares Israel has the goods on Graham and is using his closeted homosexuality to blackmail him.

Yesterday, April 17, 2018, in an interview on PressTV, Madsen said:

“Graham is a well-known neoconservative war hawk. He was hoping obviously that John Bolton, who’s his fellow traveler in neoconservative circles and the new national security adviser, that we would see a more sustained military attack against Syria. What Lindsey Graham wanted to see of course was a US attack on Syrian airfields, infrastructure, the presidential palace, and on the nationals of Russia or Iran or Lebanon, and members of Hezbollah killed. That’s just fine for Lindsey Graham. Lindsey Graham does not care about putting the world on the brink of World War 3. And I think the reason for that is the fact that Lindsey Graham, who comes from a very conservative state, South Carolina, the Israelis have significant blackmail information on Mr. Graham having to do with his homosexual lifestyle.”

The identification of Israel’s interests as America’s interests is best illustrated by an Israeli stamp (below) that was issued upon the inauguration of the Zionist Organization of America House in Tel Aviv.

Founded in 1897, the Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) is the first official Zionist organization in the United States, and the primary representative of American Jews to the World Zionist Organization. ZOA was instrumental in mobilizing the support of the U.S. government, Congress, and the American public for the creation of Israel in 1948. Following the founding of Israel, and to unify Jewish representation with the executive branch of US government, the ZOA became a charter member of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations.

As you can see, the stamp places the ZOA building in front of the Manhattan skyline:
• New York Times: Israeli and other foreign intelligence have the goods on pedophile D.C. politicians
• Threat to free speech: Unconstitutional S720/HR1697 will make it a felony to support anti-Israel boycott
• Congressional Resolutions (HRes 257, SR 118) will sic law enforcement on you for ‘hating’ Muslims, Jews, or blacks
• Israeli intelligence chief said Israel does not want ISIS to be defeated</s>The Republican senator from South Carolina, who has previously fought with Trump, tweeted a story from CNN on Republicans not ready to back Trump just yet -- and revealed he intended to support the President.

"As to the 2020 presidential race, I believe President @realDonaldTrump will run for reelection and I intend to support him," he wrote on Twitter.

He later told CNN's Manu Raju, "The Trump movement is real ... he will be our nominee, I'm confident of that, and I will support him."

Hardly any would offer a categorical endorsement of the President. Graham and Trump haven't always had the most stable relationship. During the election, the two sparred often when they ran against each other for the Republican nomination -- with Graham eventually endorsing Trump for the presidency. Since Trump's inauguration, Graham has cozied up to Trump, especially during the Obamacare debate, but found himself in a confrontational role with the President again when it seemed he might fire special counsel Robert Mueller earlier this year.</s>While some Republicans hesitate on whether or not to publicly support a Trump re-election at this point, two South Carolina politicians are making it clear where they stand.Lindsey Graham, a U.S. Senator from South Carolina, vowed to support Trump in 2020 in a Thursday morning tweet that linked to a CNN article quoting 11 Republicans who either stopped short of endorsing Trump in the next presidential election or just plain refused to."I'm worried about my own race right now," said Republican Congressman Mark Sanford of South Carolina in the CNN article.Sen. Graham, who has represented the state in the upper chamber of Congress for 15 years, doesn't seem to feel the same pinch."I expect we will — at times — continue to have differences," Sen. Graham wrote in one tweet. "I will continue to speak my mind, just like I know he will. I think that makes us both better."Graham's thoughts on Trump are, understandably, complicated. After calling him a "kook" in 2016, he lambasted the media's "endless attempt to label the guy as some kind of kook unfit to be president" during a TV appearance in November.Gov. Henry McMaster followed with his own tweet an hour later, posting a photo of him shaking hands with 45."President Trump has done an outstanding job delivering results for the American people," McMaster wrote. "I was proud to be one of the first to stand with him in 2016, and I proudly support him now."Most Republicans asked about the next election said they were concerned about other issues, and that 2020 was far from their minds."I've supported the President in the past and support him now but three years from now?" Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana told CNN. "I think the midterms are a long ways away in terms of politics; I don't get involved that far ahead."President Trump has a a disapproval rating of 54.2 percent and an approval rating of 40.2 percent, according to a poll aggregator run by FiveThirtyEight. His approval rating is lower than that of the past five commanders-in-chief at the same point in their presidencies.A Winthrop University poll found that Trump's support among S.C. Republicans hovered at a comfortable 80 percent, though his support among the general population sat at 47 percent.</s>Sen. Lindsey Graham slammed the Trump administration's response in Syria, after a briefing with top military officials that he said "unnerved" him, CBS News' Alan He reports.

"Everything in that briefing made me more worried, not less," the South Carolina Republican said after a briefing lawmakers had with Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Joseph Dunford on Tuesday. "This makes no sense to me."

Graham went on to say he doesn't know "how in the world we can destroy ISIL relying on local police in a country dominated" by Syrian President Bashar Assad, who the U.S. believes is responsible for the recent suspected chemical attack that left dozens dead. Graham feared that if the U.S. stays on its current course, Syria will fall into the hands of the Russians and Iranians, which would be a nightmare scenario for Israel. Graham said there is no military strategy currently on the table to deal with the influence of Iran and Russia.

"It seems to me we are willing to give Syria to Assad, Russia, and Iran, and we're trying to find some way to leave Syria to keep ISIL destroyed, and I don't see how that works. I hope I am wrong."

"I think Assad after this strike believes we're all tweet and no action," Graham said.

Only weeks ago, Mr. Trump insisted he wanted to pull troops out of Syria, and even after the strikes the U.S. conducted last week, the Trump administration has insisted the mission in Syria remains the same -- destroy ISIS.

In terms of timing for withdrawing from Syria, withdrawal timing, Graham said it seemed like it would be, "conditions-based, but as soon as possible."

"It seems to me the president is going to pull out of Syria as soon as he can," Graham said.

CBS News' Kathryn Watson and Alan He contributed to this report.
South Carolina senator Lindsey Graham states that he will support Trump in the 2020 elections.