Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) on Sunday blasted the Obama administration’s handling of Iraq as a failure and dictated by nothing more than campaign tactics.
“At a time when we need troops in Iraq to secure the country, we have none,” Graham told Chris Wallace on “Fox News Sunday.” “It was his job to end this right [and] they failed.”
Graham, a long-standing critic of the Obama administration’s foreign policy, also scolded the President for letting politics guide his decisions, rather than strategy.
“I think he’s made some poor decisions on the strategic level. Israel has been thrown under the bus by this President. Iraq and Afghanistan [are] being run by Chicago and not Washington for these past six months.”
Graham also criticized the administration’s handling of Libya, saying that the toppling of Muammar Qaddafi, Libya’s longtime dictator, should have occurred at a faster pace — and that the months of pro-longed engagement have destabilized the region with now unaccounted-for weapons caches that have largely disappeared.
“If you go to war, go to win, don’t lead from behind,” Graham said, blaming Obama’s reliance on support from allies such as the British and French for months of delay.
Igor Bobic
Igor Bobic is the assistant editor of Talking Points Memo, helping oversee the site's coverage of politics and policy in Washington. While originally from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Igor feels best at home on the beaches of Southern California. He can be reached at igor@talkingpointsmemo.com.
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