Kevin Bishop (864) 250-1417 or Lorcan Connick (202) 224-5972

WASHINGTON -- U.S. Senators Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) and John McCain (R-Arizona) today released the following statement on the Administration's decision to resupply Kurdish forces in Kobani with arms, ammunition, and other supplies, and its continued lack of an effective strategy against ISIS:

"We support the Administration's decision to resupply Kurdish forces in Kobani with arms, ammunition, and other supplies. This is a good step in a recent series of actions to increase U.S. efforts to prevent ISIS from taking Kobani.

"At the same time, this tactical adjustment should not be confused for an effective strategy, which is still lacking. As U.S. efforts increase to help secure Kobani, ISIS continues advancing in Anbar province as well as on Baghdad and other strategically significant cities. We continue to urge the Administration to quickly adopt a comprehensive strategy and avoid the perils of gradual escalation - in Kobani and in the broader fight against ISIS in Iraq and Syria. This will only lead to an unnecessary loss of life and reduce our chances of success, as we have learned in other conflicts.

"Degrading and ultimately destroying ISIS will require additional actions that we have long advocated, such as the deployment of U.S. Special Forces and military advisers on the ground to direct airstrikes and advise our local partners; the expansion of assistance for moderate Syrian forces, and the establishment of safe zones protected by no fly zones in Syria. Rather than preemptively ruling-out steps such as these for policy reasons, the President should take them now as appropriate to change the momentum on the ground against both ISIS and the Assad regime and to create conditions for a political transition and an end of the conflict in Syria. That is ultimately what it will take to destroy ISIS and keep America safe, and we cannot afford to delay any longer."

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