Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) has become one of President Trump\u2019s key allies on Capitol Hill. However, the famously hawkish politician was publicly dismayed this month when Trump announced he would pull U.S. troops out of Syria.<\/span><\/p>\n After the announcement, Graham issued a statement<\/a> <\/strong><\/span>that denounced the decision as \u201can Obama-like mistake made by the Trump Administration.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n But this weekend, the senator had a change of heart after a meeting at the White House, later telling reporters<\/a> <\/strong><\/span>the president \u201ctold me some things I didn\u2019t know that made me feel a lot better about where we\u2019re headed in Syria.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n What explains Graham\u2019s newfound optimism about Trump\u2019s plan to leave Syria?<\/span><\/p>\n Well, there is one big but rather confusing reason. In Graham\u2019s retelling, Trump\u2019s plan to leave Syria sounds suspiciously like a plan to stay in Syria \u2014 one that could be extended indefinitely, too. Speaking to reporters Sunday, Graham described Trump\u2019s Syria plan as a \u201cpause situation\u201d rather than a withdrawal.<\/span><\/p>\n The senator went into more detail in some tweets Sunday evening:<\/span><\/p>\n The President will make sure any withdrawal from Syria will be done in a fashion to ensure:<\/p>\n 1) ISIS is permanently destroyed.<\/p>\n 2) Iran doesn\u2019t fill in the back end, and <\/p>\n 3) our Kurdish allies are protected.<\/p>\n — Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) December 30, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n