Cease fire welcome, but concerns remain per Rounds

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HURON – A ceasefire that stops Turkey from further incursion into northern Syria is welcome news while a more permanent solution is negotiated, Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., said Thursday.
A member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, he was provided with a classified briefing on what’s going on in the region and is limited in what he can disclose, he said in a conference call with reporters.
But he said he was concerned about Turkey’s incursion into Syria and military actions against the Kurds, who were partners with the United States in battling ISIS.
“The ISIS problem is not gone completely,” he said. “Clearly we have shut down their caliphate.”
Still, the Kurds had been holding more than 12,000 ISIS fighters who had been on the battlefield, and instability could mean many have or will escape captivity.
Rounds said there is ongoing communication between the U.S. Army forces and Turkish army forces, and there is still a working relationship with the Kurdish fighters as well.
While he couldn’t be specific, he said the strategy is in response to what other countries are doing in the region.
On Wednesday, the House voted 354 to 60 to condemn the White House for abandoning Kurdish allies in Syria. Voting with the majority was Rep. Dusty Johnson, R-S.D.

“Our Kurdish allies stood with the U.S. in the fight against ISIS, now is not the time to abandon them,” he said. “I hope to see swift and robust sanctions imposed on the Turkish government.”
The Kurds lost more than 11,000 people fighting ISIS, Rounds said. While the appropriate outcome is unknown, he said the ceasefire will allow U.S. troops the ability to move peacefully away from danger.
The hope is to get to the point where there’s an agreement between Turkey and the Kurds. “But this is literally changing by the hour,” he said.
He said it has been made clear to all parties involved that “they can expect real retribution if our troops are harmed.”
Meanwhile, the impeachment inquiry continues in Washington, D.C., with more testimony being heard behind closed doors by House committees.
In the Senate, Rounds said until the matter comes to that chamber he and his colleagues will continue concentrating on other issues such as veterans affairs, banking, the appropriations process, the defense authorization act and confirmation of the president’s nominees to federal positions.
He said he has read the transcript of the original phone call between President Trump and the Ukrainian president. “I did not see a quid pro quo in that,” he said.
The House impeachment agenda, he said, “is not anything new; they’ve been trying to do that since the election.”
But Rounds said he continues to push for a House vote on the United States-Mexico-Canada trade agreement, a pact that is critical to the Upper Midwest.
Action on a replacement for the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) must come to the House floor and then on to the Senate soon because time is running out, he said.