[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 7]
[Senate]
[Pages 10005-10006]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                            THE MIDDLE EAST

  Mr. GRAHAM. Senator McCain was on the floor, and I am sorry I missed 
him. I was in a briefing.
  To the American people, the situation in Iraq is dire. Syria has 
become a launching pad for attacks against the Iraqi people.
  The ISIS--we don't know who these people are, but we are going to get 
to know them--are Islamic jihadists based in Syria and Iraq. They are 
an army, and they are not a bunch of hoodlums.
  They have a very specific game plan. They want to create an Islamic 
caliphate and basically dominate Iraq and Syria. Some want to go to 
Lebanon and want to create an Islamic state that will be ruled under 
the most extreme version of Islamic law one could imagine--hell on 
earth for women, not good for us, the end of modern thought in that 
part of the world. The people of Iraq and Syria are not by their nature 
radical Islamists. The people who are beginning to win the day on the 
battlefield come from all over, and they truly are radical Islamists 
who would put the world in darkness if they could.
  The next 9/11 is in the making as I speak. These people are using 
Syria and now Iraq as a training ground for international jihad. There 
are European jihadists and American jihadists over in the Syria as I 
speak. Over 2 weeks ago, the largest truck bomb explosion by a suicide 
bomber in Syria was by an American citizen. And, I hate to say it, but 
there are more over there today.
  The question for the United States is: Does it really matter if the 
ISIS dominates Syria and Iraq or any part thereof? I think it does. I 
think it is a very bad scenario for us. I think it directly impacts our 
security here at home, and it will throw the region into chaos.
  It is clear to me, after the briefing, there is no scenario by which 
the Iraqi Security Forces can stop the advancement of this group toward 
Baghdad. I don't think they go much beyond Baghdad, because then they 
get into the Shia areas of Iraq. That would be one hell of a fight. But 
Mosul has fallen, Tikrit has fallen, Fallujah has fallen. Now they are 
marching to Baghdad. Unless something changes, they will be successful.
  They are sending the military equipment they are seizing into Syria 
to help their cause there. This is a very dangerous situation.
  I urge President Obama to go on national television, explain what is 
going on in Iraq and Syria, and make the case to the American people 
why we should stay out or why we should do something.
  I think American air power is the only hope to change the battlefield 
equation in Iraq. I know no American wants to set boots on the ground, 
and I don't feel that is a solution worthy of consideration at this 
point. But I have been told by our military commanders the Iraqi army 
is in shambles, and without some kind of intervention, Baghdad is 
definitely in jeopardy, most of the Sunni areas of Iraq will be run by 
ISIS, and they will join forces with their colleagues over in Syria.
  I worry about the King of Jordan. I worry about Lebanon being next. 
God knows, if we lose the King of Jordan,

[[Page 10006]]

the last moderate force in the Middle East surrounding Israel, what a 
calamity that would be.
  I end with this thought. I remember discussing Iraq with President 
Bush as if it was yesterday. I went over on numerous occasions with 
Senator McCain early on after the fall of Baghdad and every trip it was 
worse.
  I remember the Bush administration telling us: These are just a few 
dead-enders. Everything is fine. The media is hyping all the problems 
because they don't like President Bush.
  The soldiers on the ground were telling us: I am driving around every 
day. I don't know why I am driving around, but I am getting my ass shot 
off--pardon my French here--without purpose.
  I remember sitting down with President Bush, his administration and 
his team, and Senator McCain, and we candidly told President Bush: If 
you don't adjust your strategy, if you don't reinforce Iraq, we are 
going to lose.
  To his credit, he did, and the surge actually worked. We left Iraq in 
a very good spot. The security forces had won the day. We had driven 
out Al Qaeda. Politics was beginning to take over. Violence had been 
reduced tremendously. The surge worked. Our military did their job, 
fighting alongside their Iraqi counterparts.
  But the decision to withdraw from Iraq created a crisis of 
confidence, a capability crisis. When there is a vacuum in the Middle 
East, people go back to their corners--and that is exactly what has 
happened in Iraq with the lack of an American presence.
  Here is what is so heartbreaking. Some 10,000 or 15,000 U.S. soldiers 
strategically placed would have held this together and politics would 
have taken over. But it is hard to do political agreements when you are 
subject to being killed by people on the other side. You need a certain 
level of security to advance society.
  That security has completely been lost in Iraq, and Syria is a 
contagion for the entire region.
  Our indecision and indecisive action in Syria--it was bipartisan, by 
the way. Plenty of Republicans said: Stay out of Syria; it is none of 
our concern. What Senator McCain and I have been worried about in Syria 
for about 3 or 4 years is that Iran and Russia were behind Assad. It is 
not in our interest for Iranians to be in Syria because it is very hard 
to get them to abandon their nuclear program if they think we are weak 
in Syria, and it is in our national security interest for Syria not to 
become an Islamic state.
  About 3 years ago there were 500 foreign fighters. Today there are 
26,000. So to those Republicans and Democrats who said stay out of 
Syria, don't use airstrikes or air power, I am sad to say that I think 
you were wrong. I think Syria has become an absolute breeding ground 
for radical Islamists, and the next attack against our country could 
very well originate from the people who are fighting in Syria today. 
And I have never been more worried about another 9/11 than I am right 
now.
  So, Mr. President, if you are willing to adjust your policies, we 
will sit down with you. If you are willing to sit down with your 
generals and get some good, sound military advice, we will stand with 
you because what happens in Iraq and Syria does matter. I don't think 
we need boots on the ground. I don't think that is an option for 
consideration. But if our military leaders say that we need to stop 
ISIS because it is in our national security interests through the use 
of our air power, count me in if that is what our generals say.
  I will stand with you, Mr. President, if you correct your policies. 
If you continue to be delusional about the world, I will be your worst 
critic.
  With that, I yield back.

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