Lindsey Graham says nuclear deal with Iran is as bad as appeasing HITLER
– and warns massive US troop deployment is needed to save Iraq from ISIS
By David Martosko, Us Political Editor For Dailymail.com In Cedar Rapids, Iowa
23:13 17 Jul 2015, updated 07:14 18 Jul 2015
Sen. Lindsey Graham painted a bleak picture of President Barack Obama’s Middle East policy on Friday during an Iowa campaign stop in Cedar Falls, saying his recent nuclear deal with Iran is ‘in the same category as believing that you could get a deal with Hitler.’
‘This is “peace in our time” on steroids,’ said Graham, a reference to British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain’s infamous appeasement of the Nazi dictator – and subsequent boast – in 1938.
Graham, a Republican presidential candidate, also claimed that Obama’s withdrawal of American ground forces from Iraq at the end of 2011 left a chaotic power struggle in its wake that a new surge of U.S. troops would have to put in order.
‘The Obama administration is dangerously naive when it comes to the Mideast,’ said Graham, 60, ‘and have shown a level of incompetency that surpasses Jimmy Carter.’
Painting himself as a war hawk par excellence, the 20-year congressional veteran spelled out his terror-fighting philosophy: ‘When it comes to radical Islam, protecting your family, your friends, our way of life – whatever it takes, as long as it takes. I hope I’m clear.’
But the White House’s bargain with Tehran, he said, ‘is incredibly naive and tremendously dangerous’ and ‘comes from a weak-minded president.’
In exchange for Iran delaying for 10 years its pursuit of nuclear weapons, a group of developed nations including the U.S. agreed this week to lift tens of billions of dollars in economic sanctions, and to life arms and missile-technology embargos in the coming years.
‘I would not honor this deal,’ Graham pledged, looking forward to an Oval Office tenure.
‘I would not agree to give them one dime of money until they change their behavior. I would not allow them to buy one bullet until they change their behavior. I would dismantle their nuclear program, which was the original goal.’
He said that while he would be willing to help Tehran assemble a peaceful nuclear energy program, ‘I do object to large [uranium] enrichment programs in the hands of religious fanatics.’
Friday’s event was hosted by Americans for Peace, Prosperity, and Security, a GOP-linked organization that wants to force national security issues into the forefront of the debate over who will lead the U.S. beginning in 2017.
While he pledged to avoid the temptation to make terrorism a partisan issue, Graham said he had no qualms about making it about Islam.
‘To those who don’t believe this is a religious war, you are making a huge mistake,’ he said. ‘It is a religious war. The Nazis wanted a master race. These people want a master religion.’
‘Radical Islam is becoming more powerful, and somebody needs to put them in a box. The only reason 3,000 died on 9/11 is that they couldn’t get the weapons to kill 3 million of us. If they could, they would.’
‘I’m not trying to achieve peace with radical Islam,’ he added. ‘I’m trying to achieve their destruction. Because nothing else will work.’
A large part of that battle, he emphasized, must be fought in Iraq, a country the U.S. spilled blood to bring out of chaos, but then abandoned nearly four years ago.
‘If we had not stayed in Germany and Japan, only God knows what would have happened to the next generation,’ Graham said. comparing today’s Middle East with the end of World War II.
‘The decision to withdraw the 10,000 [troops] set in motion the rise of ISIL,’ he said, referring to the terror army, ‘of which the predecessor was “Al-Qaeda in Iraq”.’
His voice suddenly lower, Graham predicted troops would have to return in the same numbers.
‘To those who fought in Iraq, it breaks my heart to tell you that we’re going to have to go back, but we are,’ he said. ‘The soldiers did their job; the politicians screwed this up.’
‘It breaks my heart,’ the retired Air Force Reserves colonel said moments later.
‘It does matter what happens in Iraq. They’re coming here if we do not stop them over there. We need about 10,000 U.S. forces, not 3,500.’
Among the U.S. military tactics needed in Iraq, he said, would be ‘Special Forces units on the ground morning, noon and night, going after ISIL leadership, putting pressure on their leadership.’
‘When they’ve talked on the phone, when they got in the car, they’ll either die or be captured,’ Graham blared.
The senator also spelled out a scenario in which he would help moderate Arab countries oust Syrian strongman Bashar al-Assad.
But he said he expected cultural transformations in return.
‘I will work with you to go into Syria,’ he said, describing an imaginary conversation with Arab nations.
‘But I ask you a few things: “Stop funding terrorism. Close these madrassas down. Let women drive.”‘
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