“What we do in Afghanistan will affect the ability of Iran to get the message”

Tuesday, 29 September 2009

“What we do in Afghanistan will affect the ability of Iran to get the message”

U.S. at critical point in Iran, Afghanistan Graham says

By Clark Brooks • STAFF WRITER • September 27, 2009

U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham said today that without a strong response in Iran and Afghanistan the United States and its NATO allies are heading for “Armageddon.”

Graham, speaking on CBS’ “Face the Nation,” said it’s obvious what Iran is up to at its unfinished uranium enrichment plant.

“They are trying to develop a nuclear weapon,” he said, “and if they are successful the Sunni Arab states in the region will want a nuclear weapon, Israel becomes much at risk and we’re walking down the road to Armageddon.”

Furthermore, Graham said, America will be defeated in Afghanistan unless President Barack Obama agrees to a request from the top U.S. and NATO commander for 40,000 additional troops there.

Graham also said that how the U.S. handles Afghanistan will help determine the outcome in Iran.

“What we do in Afghanistan will affect the ability of Iran to get the message,” Graham said. “This (Iranian) regime needs to be delivered a message that the international community is deadly serious about stopping their nuclear program.”

Graham, a South Carolina Republican, appeared on the news program following Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who said Iran must make its nuclear program transparent to the international community or face more severe sanctions.

Clinton said the Obama administration is weighing options for the war in Afghanistan and that Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal’s request for 40,000 more troops is just one part of the equation.

Among the things being considered is shifting the focus to going after terrorist leaders who try to return to Afghanistan, officials have said.

For Graham, the key is sending more troops, and he has spoken out strongly about the importance of winning in Afghanistan.

If McChrystal doesn’t get the additional troops, Graham said, “We’re going to lose. We’ll be driven out. The Taliban will come back stronger than they were before. The moderates in Afghanistan will be back in hiding or get killed. NATO will be seen as a failure and America will go it alone in the future.”

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