Lindsey Graham fears left, right in ‘unholy alliance’ to block stabilizing efforts in Afghanistan
A prominent Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee is praising President Barack Obama’s approach to fighting terrorism in Pakistan.
However, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina, is also worried that conservatives and liberals could join forces to undermine Obama’s efforts in Afghanistan.
Obama has set July 2011 as the target date to begin to draw down the additional troops he’s surged into Afghanistan. But, in an interview broadcast Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union,” Graham predicted that conditions may not allow the troops to begin to come home by that date.
“[G]enerally speaking, this time next summer, we’re still going to be engaged in one hell of a fight,” Graham said. “We’re going to need every troop we have today, I think, still in Afghanistan next year.”
According to Graham, it will be clear by the end of this year where things stand in Afghanistan.
“If, by December, we’re not showing some progress, we’re in trouble,” he said. “And the question is: what is progress? Without some benchmarks and measurements, it’s going to be hard to sell to the American people a continued involvement in Afghanistan.”
Graham said he is worried about conservative and liberal forces joining together to frustrate Obama’s efforts to stabilize Afghanistan.
“You know what I worry most about: an unholy alliance between the right and the left,” Graham said. “That there are some Republicans who are not going to take a, you know, do-or-die attitude for Obama’s war. There are some Republicans that want to make this Obama’s war. . . There will be some Republicans saying you can’t win because of the July 2011 withdrawal date, he’s made it impossible for us to win, so why should we throw good money after bad?”
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