Graham calls for patience on Iraq war

Sen. Lindsey Graham speaks to the media Monday about the situation in Iraq. Owen Riley Jr./Staff e-mail this story Related Online extra • Should U.S. troops remain in Iraq? Give your opinion Previous coverage • Graham: Troops under great stress

"We cannot let our will break," the Republican from Seneca said in Greenville, "because terrorists are measuring us."

Speaking to the media from his Greenville office, Graham said, "I hope the president tomorrow night will reattach the American people to the idea that the war in Iraq is part of the war on terror."

President Bush is scheduled to address the nation tonight on the situation in Iraq.

The percentage of Southerners who oppose the war in Iraq has risen to 53 percent, according to a CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll taken last weekend, compared with 21 percent who opposed it in April 2003, about a month after the war began.

Graham said the next six months, as Iraqis write a constitution while they are literally under fire and try to work through 1,400 years of religious disputes between Sunni and Shiite Muslims, "will make or break Iraq."

Graham said, "It is important that we keep our troop levels consistent, and, I believe, look at the idea of sending more troops between now and December, because I can tell you with a lot of certainty there's going to be a full-scale assault on the Iraqi political institutions between now and December to try to destabilize that country, and we cannot let that happen."

He added, "We've underestimated how hard this would be. We have assumed the best instead of planning for the worst, and that needs to stop. Between now and December, plan for the worst and hope for the best."

In addressing public opinion, Graham said he told Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld last week, "I think we have a chronic problem on our hands."

Graham made the remark as Rumsfeld updated the Senate Armed Services Committee, of which Graham is a member. Graham told Rumsfeld, "In the most patriotic state I can imagine, people are beginning to question."

He said Monday, "My advice to the American people and South Carolinians is, please understand the consequences of losing in Iraq. If we get it right in Iraq, all things are possible in the Mideast. If we leave that country in shambles, you've empowered the terrorists, and more 9-11s are coming. This is a war of wills."
Nan Lundeen can be reached at 298-4316.