Graham: Obama's Iraq, Afghan policies 'being run out of Chicago'



Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said Sunday that key foreign policy decisions by the Obama administration are being made for political reasons.

"I would argue Iraq and Afghanistan is being run out of Chicago, not Washington, in terms of decisions," Graham said on Fox News Sunday.


Graham criticized President Obama for planning to withdraw all U.S. troops from Iraq by the end of this year. He said the White House ignored requests from military commanders for more troops in the country.

"I think in the last year he has made some poor, dangerous foreign policy decisions at the strategic level when it comes to Iraq," Graham said. "When your military commander, who I trust, says you need 15,000 to 18,000 in 2012 to secure the gains we have fought for and you have zero and you celebrate that, that’s pretty disappointing." 

Earlier on the show, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said both the United States and Iraq agreed to the plan to withdraw all U.S. troops. She also noted that it was the Bush administration that came to a security agreement in 2008 with Iraq to withdraw all U.S. combat forces.

"You have a bipartisan commitment to withdraw combat troops," Clinton said. 

She said Iraq is an independent nation and that they need to make decisions regarding their own security.

"That is what we were there for: to give the Iraqi people the chance to make their own decisions," Clinton said.

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