A top U.S. military officer told Congress on Thursday that the U.S. has no military objective to remove Assad from power, adding that removing Assad is not the political objective of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), led by the PKK terrorist organization's Syrian affiliate the People's Protection Units (YPG).The statement from U.S. Marine Gen. Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was made upon a question Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) from the Senate Armed Services Committee whether the U.S. has a plan to further arm the SDF and if the removal of Assad is a priority for the U.S. or the SDF.Responding to the question, ahead of Dunford's comments, Defense Secretary Ash Carter said: "I do support continuing to work with them, yes, we have provided them some equipment already, we are providing them arms."However, Dunford responded saying, "Today, that is not their stated political objective," referring to the YPG-led SDF.Graham criticized Dunford and Carter's responses, saying, "If the main force in Syria is not aiming to remove Assad, then where does that force come from?"Ankara has long criticized Washington for its support for the Democratic Union Party (PYD) and its armed wing YPG, saying there are organic links between the PKK and the PYD/YPG. The PKK is recognized as a terrorist organization by the U.S., the EU and Turkey.In response to a question regarding if the Syrian Kurds will be armed, despite Ankara's concerns and criticism, Dunford said arming the SDF will increase chances of recapturing Raqqa, the capital of DAESH in Syria, from the terrorist group.Senator Graham seemed angered by the response when asked if the U.S. administration had a military objective to remove Assad. "We have a military objective to destroy DAESH, we do not have a military objective to remove Assad,"Dunford replied.Meanwhile, Dunford also said in another response to Graham that Assad "is in a much stronger place than he was a year ago."