Sen. Lindsey Graham calls for up to 7,000 American troops in Syria to take down Assad

Lindsey Graham.
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) called Friday for between 5,000 and 7,000 American ground troops to be moved to Syria in an effort to take down the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

While the United States struck a Syrian airforce base on Thursday, the attack was, according to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), a one-off in response to an illegal use of chemical weapons earlier this week. But Graham warned that if Assad remains in power it "will ensure the war never ends," reported BuzzFeed News' Paul McLeod. On Thursday, Graham and Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) released a joint statement praising the strike.

Graham additionally said that when he told Trump that Thursday's strike was "the first step," Trump replied: "Yeah, I believe you're right."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Jeva Lange

Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.