With all the vitriol directed at Jeb Bush for his many answers to the “Iraq War question,” Republican politicians and right-wing pundits have been decrying America’s invasion of Iraq. Presidential hopeful Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) doubled down on his support of invading and said it was no mistake, reported Talking Points Memo.
Oddly, however, Graham did say in the same breath that “If I knew then what I know now, a land invasion may not have been the right answer.” It seems that Graham is trying to reach a middle ground to please everyone by saying two exactly opposite things. It makes absolutely no sense.
Graham said Saddam Hussein “had a lot to do with destabilizing the region” and that he would have “kept the pressure to get rid of Saddam.” Graham concluded by saying Iraq is Obama’s fault.
“At the end of the day, I blame President Obama for the mess in Iraq and Syria, not President Bush,” said Graham. That’s an idiotic notion because American military forces were in Iraq for six years before Obama took office in January 2009. By that point, Iraq was already an unpopular mess and national joke.
By 2009, the situation in Iraq was such a disaster that an immediate pullout of military forces would provide unforeseeable results. To blame Obama for a mess that he didn’t create is misguided at best, and an outright lie at worst.
In fact, Graham thinks that more troops should be sent over to the Middle East to train more Iraqi troops.
“The longer ISIS is allowed to survive in Iraq and Syria, the more likely they are to attack us here at home,” said Graham. “I think 10,000 troops would allow us to train the Iraqi army at a faster pace, give them capability that they don’t have.”
Graham thinks Iraq wasn’t a mistake and he would send more troops over there. He’s considering running for president. Graham has an uphill battle, and he will lose.
