GistReel
Lindsey Graham, 71, a senior senator, is well-known for frequently asking the United States to go to war, particularly battles that benefit Israel is dead after a brief and sudden illness.
His death was revealed early Sunday by his office via a post on his official X account.
“On the evening of Saturday, July 11, U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham passed away from a brief and sudden illness…” the office said.
Mr Graham, popularly known for asking the United States to go to war, particularly battles that benefit Israel had previously declared that part of his role as an American senator was to protect Israel’s interests.
During a visit to Tel Aviv in March, Mr Graham boldly committed to support Israel until “our dying day.”
“When it comes to Israel, we have common enemies and common values,” he stated.
Senator Graham has been advocating for military action against Iran for years. He is also one of the senators who strongly backed the recent US-Israel war on terror, which has destabilized the Middle East and killed over 7,300 people, including more than 100 schoolgirls.
The Wall Street Journal reported in March that Mr Graham visited Israel multiple times in the weeks leading up to the war to advise Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on how to persuade President Donald Trump to go to war with Iran.
The senator also compared the Iranian government to Nazi Germany and emphasized that it would be a “mistake” for Mr. Trump to not undertake full-fledged regime change in the country.
“They’re no more normal than Hitler was,” the senator declared.
Without providing any evidence, Mr Graham asserted that Iran will have “11 nuclear bombs” within a year and would use them. He also repeated Mr Trump’s accusation that Iran was preparing to attack before the US attack in February.
Graham’s historic support for war
Mr Graham was known for his aggressive foreign policy well before the conflict in Iran. The senator has supported or justified various aggressive US actions toward other countries.
The Republican senator from South Carolina was one of several prominent US lawmakers who supported the 2003 invasion of Iraq, which resulted in the ouster of President Saddam Hussein, the deaths of millions of people, and the destabilization of the oil-producing country.
Mr Graham, who became a senator in 2002 after serving in the House, claimed that Saddam Hussein’s government represented a threat to the United States and that military action was required.
The Iraq War is regarded one of the most contentious US foreign policy decisions of the twenty-first century. The US invasion was largely justified by accusations that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction, but no such stockpiles were discovered following Saddam Hussein’s ouster.
The departure of Saddam Hussein produced a power vacuum, which fueled sectarian tensions and led to civil war. Millions of civilians perished as a result. Nonetheless, Mr Graham insisted on continuing US military activities in Iraq and rejected calls for a speedy exit since quitting too soon could jeopardize American security interests.
In a 2006 statement, Mr Graham said, “To begin removing soldiers would be comparable to surrendering on the primary battlefront in the War on Terror. This stupid idea should fail in the Senate. This is not the time to give up the fight.”
“It’s time to recommit ourselves to the moderate forces in Iraq and redouble our efforts to defeat the foreign fighters and insurgents,” he continued. “Terrorists understand the stakes in Iraq. They see Iraq as the primary battleground. We must face the challenge full on and defeat them.
Mr Graham also supported US military engagement in Afghanistan following the September 11, 2001 attacks.
For a decade, he has continuously advocated for a US military presence in the country, believing that a premature exit would allow terrorist groups to reorganize. The deceased US senator criticized the Biden administration’s decision to withdraw soldiers from the country in 2021.
Similarly, in Libya, he supported US military action in the NATO intervention against the Gaddafi administration, and in Syria, he called for more military commitment.
During his 2016 presidential campaign, he suggested deploying more US soldiers to Iraq and Syria.
The US senator also supported the blockade put on Cuba, which is further undermining the already frail nation.
He presented Mr Trump’s activities against the country as a prelude to the country’s unavoidable release from the communist regime.
Earlier this year, the South Carolina senator lauded US President Donald Trump for “finishing the job” of previous President Ronald Reagan, citing the now-deposed Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro as an example of Mr Trump’s successful foreign policy.
In a post on X on Sunday, President Donald Trump described the dead as “one of the greatest people and Senators I have ever known.”
“He was always working and a staunchAmerican patriot. Lindsey will be greatly missed.