Senator Graham Press Release
Contact: Wes Hickman (202) 224-5972 or Kevin Bishop (864) 250-1417
Date: 11/13/2006
Graham Does Not Support Troop Withdrawal from Iraq
WASHINGTON – According to published reports, the Democratic leadership in Congress will begin pushing for withdrawal of American troops from Iraq in the coming months. U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, today said he would oppose such a move and work to defeat such a proposal.
“I will adamantly oppose any efforts by a Democrat-controlled Congress to mandate troop withdrawals or set deadlines for withdrawal from Iraq,” said Graham. “To start withdrawing troops would be equivalent to surrendering in the central battle front in the War on Terror. A misguided proposal such as this should hit a wall in the Senate.
“This is not the time to withdraw from the fight,” said Graham. “It’s time to recommit ourselves to the moderate forces in Iraq and redouble our efforts to defeat the foreign fighters and insurgents. The terrorists know what is on the line in Iraq. They view Iraq as the central battle front. We must meet the challenge head-on and defeat them.”
Graham has supported sending additional troops to Iraq to improve the security situation, enlisting sympathetic nations in the region to take ownership of the outcome and pushing the Iraqi leadership to move quickly to take over control of the country. He has also argued failure in Iraq empowers Iran and will lead to regional chaos.
“I do believe we need to push the Iraqi government to disarm the militias and come up with political compromises allowing the country can move forward,” said Graham. “However, nothing can be achieved until the violence is reduced. That should be our goal in the coming months, to provide a better security situation on the ground.
“The war in Iraq is front and center in our efforts to win the Global War on Terror,” concluded Graham. “We need to make a World War II-like commitment to winning in Iraq and ensure the American people fully understand what is on the line should we fail.”
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