Graham: Nobody In The World Should Legitimize Using Troops To Invade A Country
One of George W. Bush's biggest cheerleaders for the invasion and occupation of Iraq has issues with the invasion of sovereign nations now.
If we had anything resembling a functioning media in this country, this one segment should have demanded that Candy Crowley follow up with minimally a "Are you serious, Sen. Graham? Does the name Iraq mean anything to you?" if not flat out laughing in Huckleberry Graham's face:
CROWLEY: What do you make of that position, that a Russian view of this [the turmoil in the Crimea] is not totally understood or taken into account?
GRAHAM: It’s a horrible position for an American political leader to take to legitimize what’s happening. Crimea is part of the Ukraine. In 1994, there was an agreement as the former Soviet Union split up, and by the way, Putin is trying to create a new Russian empire to stand up. The Crimea is complicated, but it is part of the Ukraine. In the 1994 agreement, the Ukrainians gave up all nuclear weapons to maintain territorial insovereignty [sic]. This is not the way to influence a democratic state. Yes, people in Kiev need to understand eastern Russia has its complications, but nobody in the world, including a member of Congress, should legitimize using 15,000 troops to invade a country to have your say about what’s going on regarding your neighbor. This is an invasion. The Crimea is part of the Ukraine, this is not the way you settle disputes. Can China go in and take islands away from Japan? The Iranians are watching. If we do not decisively push back against Putin and make him weaker, and all of our friends in the region stronger, the Iranians are going to misunderstand yet again we meant it regarding their nuclear program. So much is at stake. Putin is on the wrong side of history and the wrong side of the law. Make him pay a price. The Ukrainian people are dying for their freedom. I hope we will stand with them, not just in words but in deeds.
And while it is admirable for Sen. Graham to stand with the dozens of dead protesters in the Ukraine (which no one should minimize or dismiss, don't get me wrong), it is telling that he is absolutely unapologetic for the almost 200,000 Iraqi civilians killed as a result for his cheerleading for the invasion and occupation of the sovereign Iraq: