Editing Lindsey Graham (section)

== On the Iraq War ==
In the lead-up to the Iraq War, Graham said of Saddam Hussein: “He is lying, Tim, when he says he doesn’t have weapons of mass destruction. For 12 years now, we’ve been playing this game, trying to get this man to part with his weapons of mass destruction.” 2003 [http://www.buzzfeed.com/andrewkaczynski/the-time-john-mccain-and-lindsey-graham-relayed-ba#.qdPeQ15jp]]

When asked by Wolf Blitzer on CNN whether the Iraq War was a mistake, Graham responded: "No. I don't think so. I think at the end of the day, if I know now, then what I know now, a land invasion may not have been the right answer, but Saddam Hussein was firing at American planes patrolling Iraqi skies under international law. He was denying U.N. weapons inspectors access to sites where we thought there would be weapons of mass destruction. He was killing his own people ... To those who think this is a temporary problem or that we brought this upon ourselves you don't know what you're talking about." 

Blitzer responded by saying that Hussein had nothing to do with 9/11, to which Graham replied: "Well, he had a lot to do in terms of destabilizing the region. He had invaded his neighbor (Kuwait), he was violating U.N. mandates about inspecting sites as part of the ending the first Gulf War, he was shooting at American aircraft patrolling the skies over Iraq as part of a no-fly zone, he was gassings the Kurds. I am glad he is gone. At the end of the day, I blame President Obama for the mess in Iraq and Syria, not President Bush." 2015 [[http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2015/05/18/lindsey_graham_iraq_was_not_a_mistake_obama_not_bush_to_blame_for_current_mess_in_iraq_and_syria.html]]

Graham has also said that the Iraq War was “an opportunity to demonstrate to the Arab world and others that the rule of law matters.” 2004 [[http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/16/us/struggle-for-iraq-south-carolina-senator-senator-s-pointed-questions-get-heart.html]]

"I am very proud of what we have been able to accomplish in Iraq and I am very sad that we made so many mistakes on the way. We never had enough troops, we were stubborn about adjusting our policies on the ground but we finally did." 
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRI_hbPNui8]