thedrifter
03-09-07, 04:10 PM
Graham, Holbrooke Clash on `Heart and Soul' of War on Terrorism
By Bill Varner
March 9 (Bloomberg) -- A leading Republican supporter of President George W. Bush in the U.S. Senate and a prominent Democratic foreign policy expert differ on whether the ``heart and soul'' of the war on terrorism is in Iraq or Afghanistan.
``The outcome in Iraq is part of an overall global struggle,'' Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina said in an interview on Bloomberg Television's ``Political Capital with Al Hunt,'' scheduled to air this weekend. ``To leave Iraq would be leaving the heart and soul of what terrorism -- the war on terror -- is all about.''
Richard Holbrooke, a U.S. ambassador to the United Nations during Bill Clinton's presidency, strongly disagreed, saying Afghanistan, not Iraq, was where the U.S. should focus its effort.
``I don't think Iraq is the heart and soul of the war on terrorism,'' Holbrooke, now vice chairman of Perseus LLC, a Washington-based private equity firm, said in a separate interview with Hunt. ``Its spiritual, inspirational leader is on the Afghan-Pakistan border, and the U.S. has now spent over five years unsuccessfully looking for him, and not looking even very aggressively.''
The value of fighting in Iraq versus Afghanistan has become an issue for Democratic lawmakers. House Democrats yesterday said they would seek to force the withdrawal next year of U.S. combat troops from Iraq in a war-spending measure intended to refocus military attention on the fight against the Taliban and al-Qaeda in Afghanistan. Bush's aides said the president would veto the measure.
Suspects Captured
Al-Qaeda's presence in Iraq was affirmed today by a U.S. military report of the capture of 16 terrorism suspects, including an al-Qaeda member known as ``The Butcher'' because of allegations that he beheaded captives.
Holbrooke, 65, said al-Qaeda operatives entered Iraq ``only because of what we did, and that is the most serious of the many negative consequences of Iraq.''
The conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan make it less likely that the U.S. will enter into a conflict with Iran, because that would pull the U.S. ``into three wars,'' Holbrooke said. A conflict with the U.S. would also bolster the presidency of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad at a time when there is ``a lot of dissent'' in the country against him and the clerics, Holbrooke said.
While Holbrooke calls the Iranian leadership ``odious,'' he said the U.S. should talk to the regime, just as it has with North Korea.
North Korea, Iran
``In North Korea, the president reversed his policy,'' Holbrooke said. He said he hoped Bush ``is beginning to reverse his disastrous refusal to do the same thing in Iran.''
Graham and Holbrooke also differed over the likely effectiveness of the current U.S. troop reinforcements in Iraq. The American military commander in Iraq, General David Petraeus, yesterday said the deployment of 21,500 additional soldiers and Marines will be complete by early June, and recommended an extra 7,000 support personnel be sent.
``All of this is unlikely to succeed,'' Holbrooke said. ``What is Plan B, because the American strategic national interests in the region are being hammered all the way from Beirut to Bombay, and from the Mediterranean to the Himalayan Mountains.''
Graham, 51, said Petraeus and the new strategy in Iraq were ``making up for mistakes of the past'' and have a good chance to succeed.
`Getting Better'
``We're getting better, finally,'' Graham said. ``We're surging militarily, economically and politically. That's why I'm all in with Petraeus, because what we're doing today is making up for mistakes of the past. Is it too little too late? I don't know. I don't think so. I hope not.''
Whether the surge succeeds, Graham said the American people should accept the likelihood that some American troops will remain in Iraq for decades. They are fighting a ``generational'' war, he said.
Public support for the war has slumped because of the rising tally of the dead and wounded, Graham said.
``We've been in Korea for 50 years,'' Graham said. ``No one thinks about us leaving at a date certain because we haven't suffered casualties.''
Graham said he understands why Americans are ``frustrated'' about Iraq, because of the unexpected difficulties and rising cost of the conflict since the fall of Baghdad in 2003. ``We've set up a system where people were not ready for how hard it would be, and they're upset.''
To contact the reporter on this story: Bill Varner in New York at wvarner@bloomberg.net
Last Updated: March 9, 2007 15:20 EST
Ellie
By Bill Varner
March 9 (Bloomberg) -- A leading Republican supporter of President George W. Bush in the U.S. Senate and a prominent Democratic foreign policy expert differ on whether the ``heart and soul'' of the war on terrorism is in Iraq or Afghanistan.
``The outcome in Iraq is part of an overall global struggle,'' Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina said in an interview on Bloomberg Television's ``Political Capital with Al Hunt,'' scheduled to air this weekend. ``To leave Iraq would be leaving the heart and soul of what terrorism -- the war on terror -- is all about.''
Richard Holbrooke, a U.S. ambassador to the United Nations during Bill Clinton's presidency, strongly disagreed, saying Afghanistan, not Iraq, was where the U.S. should focus its effort.
``I don't think Iraq is the heart and soul of the war on terrorism,'' Holbrooke, now vice chairman of Perseus LLC, a Washington-based private equity firm, said in a separate interview with Hunt. ``Its spiritual, inspirational leader is on the Afghan-Pakistan border, and the U.S. has now spent over five years unsuccessfully looking for him, and not looking even very aggressively.''
The value of fighting in Iraq versus Afghanistan has become an issue for Democratic lawmakers. House Democrats yesterday said they would seek to force the withdrawal next year of U.S. combat troops from Iraq in a war-spending measure intended to refocus military attention on the fight against the Taliban and al-Qaeda in Afghanistan. Bush's aides said the president would veto the measure.
Suspects Captured
Al-Qaeda's presence in Iraq was affirmed today by a U.S. military report of the capture of 16 terrorism suspects, including an al-Qaeda member known as ``The Butcher'' because of allegations that he beheaded captives.
Holbrooke, 65, said al-Qaeda operatives entered Iraq ``only because of what we did, and that is the most serious of the many negative consequences of Iraq.''
The conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan make it less likely that the U.S. will enter into a conflict with Iran, because that would pull the U.S. ``into three wars,'' Holbrooke said. A conflict with the U.S. would also bolster the presidency of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad at a time when there is ``a lot of dissent'' in the country against him and the clerics, Holbrooke said.
While Holbrooke calls the Iranian leadership ``odious,'' he said the U.S. should talk to the regime, just as it has with North Korea.
North Korea, Iran
``In North Korea, the president reversed his policy,'' Holbrooke said. He said he hoped Bush ``is beginning to reverse his disastrous refusal to do the same thing in Iran.''
Graham and Holbrooke also differed over the likely effectiveness of the current U.S. troop reinforcements in Iraq. The American military commander in Iraq, General David Petraeus, yesterday said the deployment of 21,500 additional soldiers and Marines will be complete by early June, and recommended an extra 7,000 support personnel be sent.
``All of this is unlikely to succeed,'' Holbrooke said. ``What is Plan B, because the American strategic national interests in the region are being hammered all the way from Beirut to Bombay, and from the Mediterranean to the Himalayan Mountains.''
Graham, 51, said Petraeus and the new strategy in Iraq were ``making up for mistakes of the past'' and have a good chance to succeed.
`Getting Better'
``We're getting better, finally,'' Graham said. ``We're surging militarily, economically and politically. That's why I'm all in with Petraeus, because what we're doing today is making up for mistakes of the past. Is it too little too late? I don't know. I don't think so. I hope not.''
Whether the surge succeeds, Graham said the American people should accept the likelihood that some American troops will remain in Iraq for decades. They are fighting a ``generational'' war, he said.
Public support for the war has slumped because of the rising tally of the dead and wounded, Graham said.
``We've been in Korea for 50 years,'' Graham said. ``No one thinks about us leaving at a date certain because we haven't suffered casualties.''
Graham said he understands why Americans are ``frustrated'' about Iraq, because of the unexpected difficulties and rising cost of the conflict since the fall of Baghdad in 2003. ``We've set up a system where people were not ready for how hard it would be, and they're upset.''
To contact the reporter on this story: Bill Varner in New York at wvarner@bloomberg.net
Last Updated: March 9, 2007 15:20 EST
Ellie