According to KurdPress, the sudden death of Lindsey Graham, Republican Senator from South Carolina, has once again raised the question of whether he can be called a "friend of the Kurds." A review of his positions, legislative proposals, and statements during more than a decade of activity in the US Senate shows that the answer to this question is yes, but with one important qualification: Graham was not an unconditional supporter of Kurdish nationalist ideals, but rather a defender of one of America's most important allies in the Middle East.Unlike some American politicians who took ad hoc positions on the Kurds, Graham had relatively consistent but different positions on the three main Kurdish constituencies—the Iraqi Kurdistan Region, the Syrian Democratic Forces, and the Turkish Kurds. He defended the KRG and the SDF as strategic partners of the United States, but he also recognized Turkey’s security concerns about the PKK and some elements of the People’s Protection Units (YPG). His support for the Kurds was therefore based on US national security interests rather than on support for Kurdish nationalism.

The Kurdistan Region: “America’s Most Trusted Military Partner”

Graham’s positive approach to the Kurds first became apparent during the war against ISIS.In 2015, he supported a plan that would have allowed the United States to directly send weapons and military equipment to the Kurdish Peshmerga forces, a move that ran counter to the Obama administration’s policy of insisting that all military aid be channeled through the central Iraqi government. In defending the plan, Graham described the Peshmerga as “our most trusted military partner in Iraq” and said, “Given the challenges in Baghdad, I believe it is in the national security interest of the United States to strengthen the Kurds, who have proven themselves to be effective in the fight against ISIS.” The plan also cited the Kurdistan Region as an actor that played a “critical role in securing American interests” and deserved direct military aid. Despite this support, Graham never supported Kurdish independence.During the 2017 independence referendum, he, like the US government, emphasized the preservation of Iraq's territorial integrity, although at the same time he wanted to strengthen relations between Washington and Erbil.

Syria; a staunch defense of America's Kurdish allies

The most prominent part of Graham's record in relation to the Kurds comes back to northern and eastern Syria. After Donald Trump's decision in October 2019 to withdraw American troops from northern Syria, he became one of the most serious critics of this decision among Republicans. Graham described the withdrawal of American troops as a "disaster in progress" and warned: "This decision will lead to the return of ISIS." He also predicted: "The Kurds will now go to Assad because they no longer have anyone to count on; we have abandoned them." In his opinion, this decision is a major victory for the US opposition in Syria.Graham stressed that ISIS is not yet defeated. “The caliphate is gone, but thousands of ISIS fighters remain, and if it weren’t for the Kurds, the caliphate would never have been destroyed,” he said. Referring to the cooperation between the US military and the Kurdish forces, he added: “We fought alongside the Kurds. Imagine how you would feel today if you were an American soldier fighting alongside them.” He believed that the withdrawal of US troops had destroyed all the gains of the past years. A day later, Graham, along with Democratic Senator Chris Coons, warned in a formal letter that the decision would endanger the security of America’s Kurdish allies and undermine Washington’s ability to find new allies in the future.“Save the Kurds Act”

Graham’s most significant practical action in support of the Kurds was the introduction of the “Save the Kurds Act” in January 2026, a bill co-sponsored with Senator Richard Blumenthal. The bill called for sanctions against Syrian officials and all parties involved in the attack on the SDF. “There is broad bipartisan support for protecting the Kurds in Syria and beyond, because they have been such a reliable ally to the United States,” Graham said when introducing the bill. He described the role of the SDF as follows: “The SDF, which is largely Kurdish, has borne the brunt of the fight against ISIS.” He also warned: “Attacking the Kurds weakens the United States’ position."And in his most explicit position, he declared: "Any country or group that thinks it can attack the Syrian Kurds without any cost is deeply mistaken."

During the Syrian government's attacks on areas controlled by the Syrian Democratic Forces, Graham also emphasized: "If something happens to the Kurds, we will have a hard time finding allies for the United States in the future." He added: "The worst-case scenario for the region and for the United States is to abandon the Kurds." And he clarified: "There is no reason for them to be punished for helping the United States."

Turkish Kurds; Separation between the Kurdish community and the armed groups

Graham's positions on the Turkish Kurds were more complex. He never presented the Turkish Kurdish community as a threat to the country and wrote in 2019: "Millions of Kurds live in Turkey and are dynamic and effective members of its economy, culture and democracy."But at the same time, he distinguished between the Kurdish community and the armed groups. "I have long believed that certain elements among the Syrian Kurds pose a legitimate threat to Turkey's national security," he said. "Turkey's concerns about the YPG elements must be taken seriously," he added. "Any final solution in Syria must also take into account Turkey's interests and security concerns," he stressed. However, after Turkey launched its military operation in northern Syria in October 2019, Graham became a leading critic of Ankara, saying, "Turkey is attacking Kurdish forces who played the biggest role in destroying the ISIS caliphate." "Any attack on Kobani would be an international scandal," he warned. Lindsey Graham called for continued and intensified US sanctions against Turkey until a ceasefire was established.A review of Lindsey Graham's positions shows that he never saw all Kurdish groups as equal. In his view, the Kurdistan Regional Government's Peshmerga and the Syrian Democratic Forces were reliable US partners in the fight against ISIS and should be supported. On the other hand, he shared the official US government's position on the PKK, and considered Turkey's security concerns about this group and some elements of the People's Protection Units (YPG) legitimate.

Therefore, if the term "friend of the Kurds" refers to a politician who repeatedly defended the Kurds against US government decisions or attacks by regional actors, proposed legislation to support them, and called them Washington's reliable allies, Lindsey Graham was undoubtedly one of the Kurds' closest friends in the US Congress.But if this title is interpreted as support for Kurdish independence, Kurdish nationalism, or all Kurdish political and military movements, the evidence does not support such a perception. Graham was, above all, a realist American politician who defended the Kurds because he saw them as part of the US security strategy and national interests in the Middle East.