Sen. Graham: Winning in Afghanistan means Taliban 'will never be welcomed'

A key Senate Republican said Tuesday that a United States victory in the Afghan war means the Taliban and al Qaeda "will never be welcomed."

Sen. Lindsey Graham (S.C.), a member of the Armed Services and Homeland Security committees, spoke as efforts are underway to broker a negotiated political settlement with the Taliban.

Asked about his vision of "winning" on WVOC radio, Graham replied, "Winning is leaving the country where the people in Afghanistan have the ability to keep the Taliban at bay ... They become an ally instead of a country that threatens.

"Not Jeffersonian democracy, but a stable country that is aligned with us in the greater war on terror," he added. "A place where Taliban and al Qaeda will never be welcomed and a representative elected government moving forward."

Top U.S. officials have acknowledged that some sort of political settlement must be reached with the Taliban in order to bring an end to the U.S. war closing in on nine years.

Graham was not asked to comment specifically on the negotiations, but his comments suggest the negotiations could be subject to domestic political pressure from skeptics. 

The chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, John Kerry (D-Mass.) said Friday that "very active" efforts are under way to negotiate a political settlement with the Taliban — a loosely affiliated group of Islamic insurgents that control large swaths of territory in Afghanistan.

The South Carolina senator recently returned from a visit to Afghanistan where he was fulfilling his duties as a lawyer in the military reserve.

On CBS's "Face the Nation" on Sunday, Graham gave his support to begin withdrawing troops from Afghanistan in 2011, reversing his position.

Graham cited progress made there and said Afghan security forces could begin to take control of some areas of the country. He expressed hope the country could sustain an elected government because they strongly disliked the Taliban when they controlled the country prior to 2001.

"That is possible because the people have lived under the Taliban, they didn't like it, they hate the Taliban," he said. Graham questioned how might the Taliban come back to power in certain areas without armed forces?

"Well, lack of security," he said.

Graham admitted that committing troops to the Iraq war hindered progress in Afghanistan.

"We had a lot of troops in Iraq, we had to win there. It did hurt Afghanistan," along with "poor governance by the Afghan government," he said.

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