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Sen. Lindsey Graham To Congress: ‘Shut Up’ Complaining About Obama’s Libya Strategy

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Republican Senator Lindsey Graham agrees that President Obama has not been a decisive or clear leader when it comes to American involvement in Libya; however, he distinguishes himself in a major way from congressional Republicans like Speaker of the House John Boehner, who are suggesting the use of the War Powers Act to threaten an end to the Libyan military operation. Graham’s simple and blunt advice: “Congress should sort of shut up and not empower Gaddafi.”

Graham elaborates on why he doesn’t support his own party’s effort to challenge Obama’s Libyan strategy:

“I would take the course that conservatives have been taking for the last 30 years, The War Powers Act is unconstitutional, not worth the paper its written on. . . . I think it’s an infringement on the power of the commander in chief. The president’s done a lousy job of communicating and managing our involvement in Libya, but I will be no part of an effort to defund Libya or to try to cut off our efforts to bring Gaddafi down. If we fail against Gaddafi, that’s the end of NATO.”

Graham seems to be suggesting that risking the entire overseas region falling into chaos if we don’t finish the job in Libya, is not worth the trade-off of scoring political points against Obama at home. Yet it remains to be seen whether everyone in Congress, regardless of their political party, is as comfortable as Graham is ceding power to the President on such matters.

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  • GoneFishing

    Has Graham lost whatever sense he had…the man is a cartoon. Without provocation or threat we attacked a sovereign nation; an act or War. Why did we do that again?

    Graham just seems to be throwing anything he can think of out there hoping something will stick. Honestly, our refusal to attack a country that presents no threat to us at all will cause NATO to hide under a rock and Egypt to be overrun and the world as we know it will end…WTF, Really? how and by who exactly. To me Grahams argument is false, irrational and little more than scare-mongering. So whats the real reason. We don’t even know who the ‘Rebels’ are…but we Do know they support and are supported by the radicals within Islam.

    Qahadfi has been the good little tool for years. He is no threat to us at all, and he is no friend of Fanatic Islam either. In-fact, he kills them wherever he finds them, and that folks is one of the reason for this little rebellion to begin with, and why the ‘Rebels’ want to take him out.

    We have no business in Libya, none. I submit that in reality joining the Rebels is Against our interests…and so we should have no part in the conflict at all. It is just not our fight.

  • mlb

    but I will be no part of an effort to defund Libya or to try to cut off our efforts to bring Gaddafi down. If we fail against Gaddafi, that’s the end of NATO.”
    Have NATO forces really been that effective? If we really wanted to bring down Gaddafi why didn’t Obama jump in when there was a chance at real effective military coup- basically when the rebels had the upper hand in the first 2-3 weeks, instead he waited until the tide had changed in favor of Gaddafi forces and then proceeded to make a unilateral decision on the course the US would take without congressional approval. That decision in itself begs that question WHY? Did Obama really want Gaddafi gone? Were the French bringing pressure that he couldn’t ignore? Since the President has said very little in the way of substantial reasons for our presence in Libya other than he is a ‘ruthless dictator’ – I expect to hear the loudest screaming from the Left of the aisle. Graham is irrelevant.

  • Rusty Shackelford

    Why on earth do the people of South Carolina elect Miss Lindsey Graham?

  • The Lantern of Truth

    What if the “rebels’ are worse , as it appears to be the case in Egypt ?

    Forget ” political points ” .

    Should we not determine the facts first ?

  • skyfet

    Lindsey is not right in the head.

  • Gasket

    The Lantern of Truth said:
    What if the “rebels’ are worse , as it appears to be the case in Egypt ?

    Forget ” political points ” .

    Should we not determine the facts first ?

    “Worse” according to who? Americans or Egyptians? Clueless tool.

  • THE REAL ROYAL KING

    I hope Graham gets the Republican nomination for president.

  • The Lantern of Truth

    Gasket said:
    “Worse” according to who? Americans or Egy

    You are a moron .

  • TillieGlockenspiel

    http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2011/06/19/george_will_five_wars_how_many_do_these_people_want.html

    George Will: “The United States is engaged in hostilities in Iraq, Afghanistan, the tribal region of Pakistan, Yemen and Libya. That’s five wars, how many do these people want? With regard to Libya: Did Libya attack us? No. Was it about to attack us? No. Were we obliged by a treaty to get engaged in a civi war in a tribal society? No. Were American’s endangered? No. Find me a reason for this.”

    “The reason is the humanitarian reason,” Amanpour said.

    “To say that people are isolationists, akin to those didn’t want to resist Hitler and Japan because they don’t want to prolong the folly of the involvement in Libya is preposterous,” Will concluded.

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  • btimsah

    “This isnt the Lindsay Graham party”.

  • ProObamaAgenda

    GoneFishing said:
    Has Graham lost whatever sense he had…the man is a cartoon. Without provocation or threat we attacked a sovereign nation; an act or War. Why did we do that again? Graham just seems to be throwing anything he can think of out there hoping something will stick. Honestly, our refusal to attack a country that presents no threat to us at all will cause NATO to hide under a rock and Egypt to be overrun and the world as we know it will end…WTF, Really? how and by who exactly. To me Grahams argument is false, irrational and little more than scare-mongering. So whats the real reason. We don’t even know who the ‘Rebels’ are…but we Do know they support and are supported by the radicals within Islam. Qahadfi has been the good little tool for years. He is no threat to us at all, and he is no friend of Fanatic Islam either. In-fact, he kills them wherever he finds them, and that folks is one of the reason for this little rebellion to begin with, and why the ‘Rebels’ want to take him out. We have no business in Libya, none. I submit that in reality joining the Rebels is Against our interests…and so we should have no part in the conflict at all. It is just not our fight.

    lol….youre an idiot….you stupid ass conservatives have a bad habit of sideing with the enemy these days….funny you didnt have comments like this when the US was attacking iraq during the Bush years…i think its high time some of you dipshits to be added to the terrorist watch list….cant get much more anti-american than you….you freaks want another 9-11 to occur here so bad you can almost taste it cant ya???……is your hatred of President Obama so intense youre willing to cause Americans to die over it???? youre a sick individual

  • insideguy

    The conservatives said the same bullcrap about our intervention in Serbia. But now find one that says what we did there was wrong find one(not including Ron Paul).

  • ModerateMan

    The Tea Party needs to get rid of Lindsey Graham ASAP. He is the worst of Democrats and Republicans combinded in one candidate.

  • Nacho

    RINO

  • ModerateMan

    ProObamaAgenda said:
    lol….youre an idiot….you stupid ass conservatives have a bad habit of sideing with the enemy these days….funny you didnt have comments like this when the US was attacking iraq during the Bush years…i think its high time some of you dipshits to be added to the terrorist watch list….cant get much more anti-american than you….you freaks want another 9-11 to occur here so bad you can almost taste it cant ya???……is your hatred of President Obama so intense youre willing to cause Americans to die over it???? youre a sick individual

    You’re the guy who was against war when Bush was in office that is now defending war when it is waged by Barack Obama. You sir, are the enormous hypocrite.

  • GoneFishing

    ProObamaAgenda said:
    lol….youre an idiot….you stupid ass conservatives have a bad habit of sideing with the enemy these days….funny you didnt have comments like this when the US was attacking iraq during the Bush years…i think its high time some of you dipshits to be added to the terrorist watch list….cant get much more anti-american than you….you freaks want another 9-11 to occur here so bad you can almost taste it cant ya???……is your hatred of President Obama so intense youre willing to cause Americans to die over it???? youre a sick individual

    Idiot, I never supported Young George going into Iraq. His Dad should have finished the job the first time, but wussed out with the UN instead.

    Just Who is the enemy in Libya again? You support the ‘Rebels’ but the Rebels do not support you. They will gladly Use the USA and Europe playing them for fools, but their allegiance is to Iran and radical Islam. They are not our friends, nor do they want to be.

    Qhadafi is not the enemy, nor is he a threat and he has not been for years; he does business, sells his oil and pays little attention to OPEC. He learned his lesson when Ronnie put a JDAM in his bedroom and turned his Son into a red mist. No, Qhadafi is not the problem. He views the US and Europe not as allies, but as enemies of his enemy and a willing buyer for his goods who pay cash. You see, the Enemy is Iran for him too. The Ayatollah in Iran sees himself as the head of a monolithic fundamentalist Islamic world, and he is actively working to make that happen. Just ask Jimmy Carter…He was a fan and supporter of the Ayatollah in the overthrow of the Shaw…they were buddies you see. Hows that working out BTW?

    Qhadafi is no friend of Iran or Radical Islam who are our enemy. Iran supports the radicals mullah’s and opposing tribes who are trying to kill Qhadafi, and have been for years. Iran wants him dead because Qhadafi does not want to be Irans or anyones puppet…he likes being King.

    Libya is a single Nation on the map, but the lines are artificial and not a result or depiction of historic hegemony. They were drawn by Europeans for convenience; the same is true for Iraq also btw. These artificial borders are part of the problem. The area known as Libya was and is nothing more than a collection of tribal states with Qhadafi as the overlord. He became Overlord by killing his enemies, and the only way he remains overlord is by suppressing the Islamic nutters who want to kill him in return. Iran is the one stirring the pot…Qhadafi does not care who you pray too, he just wants to sell oil and play with his harem. Iran otoh, wants Qhadafi, you me and everyone else knocking head to islam; or dead.

    So who’s your friend again?

    Iran is behind Qhadafi’s problems, and they are behind ours in the Mid-East as well. What part of that don’t you get. My allegiance is to America First, and no unless we are attacked, it is not our business

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Danny-Ross/100002149217620 Danny Ross

    Please, somebody take this idiot out of the Senate. You run in the primary, I’ll be there to work for you.

  • X-3

    About 20 years ago I thought Lindsey Graham would be a true defender of our Constitution but he has been co-opted by the RINOs to the point where he has lost all credibility with anyone having conservative values and desirous of a small Federal government. He has long ago forsaken anything resembling conservatism and needs desperately to be replaced by someone who is not afraid–or reluctant–to defend the Constitution and the American people.

  • X-3

    Danny Ross said:
    Please, somebody take this idiot out of the Senate. You run in the primary, I’ll be there to work for you.

    I may not be “boots on the ground” for a competitor who has real conservative values but I can “contribute” in another way–ask Dan Benishek, ask Michelle Bachmann, ask Rand Paul.

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