Senator Lindsey Graham went from soldiers and war in Iraq to speeches and celebration at the annual meeting for Spartanburg's Chamber of Commerce. Graham spoke about his recent visit to Iraq and changes he's seen there. "The fact that the Iraqi people are making decisions for themselves. When I went the first two times everything was run by the American government," he says.

While Graham says there's progress he also noticed a big problem: stressed soldiers. He recently proposed legislation improving benefits for reservists. He says the changes are long overdue. "Right now if you're a member of the guard or reserve you don't receive any health care benefits unless you're called active duty. That's a dumb idea," he says.

Although Graham is hopeful work in Iraq is heading the right direction he says it will be years before the country has its own functioning Army and basic needs like a water and sewer system. "We need an American presence in Iraq for a long time, years not months to make sure we leave a stable democracy behind," says Graham. But he says a stable democracy makes the Middle East, and in turn America, safer.