South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham heaped praise on President Trump’s plan to send an estimated 4,000 more troops to Afghanistan while taking a jab at members of Congress who may vote against the surge.
“To my colleagues in Congress: you will own a ‘no’ vote. The next 9/11 will be your fault, not President Trump’s fault, if you shoot down this plan because this is a solid plan,” Graham said in an interview on Fox News after Trump’s speech laying out the plan.
Trump said in his speech that he had changed his mind about sending more troops to Afghanistan, where war has been raging for nearly 16 years.
Approximately 4,000 troops will be sent to fight along with 8,400 already in theatre.
“I am very pleased with this plan, and I am very proud of my president,” said Graham, who has frequently gone head-to-head with Trump.
Graham, one of the Senate’s most vocal national security hawks, was asked about opposition in Congress to Trump’s plan. Specifically, he was asked about Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul’s criticism of the surge.
In a recent op-ed, Paul questioned the surge in terms of both loss of life and financial cost. He said that if a vote is held on the surge, he will vote against it.
Graham blasted Paul, with whom he frequently quarrels with regarding military matters.
“I’ll be leading the charge for ‘yes,’ and I trust General Mattis, Dunford and Kelly more than I trust General Paul. I think he’s actually a worse general than General Obama, believe it or not,” Graham said.
“General Paul’s been wrong about everything in this war. It’s that kind of thinking that got us into 9/11,” he continued.
