U.S.

Lindsey Graham Wants War with Iran at the End of the Summer

Sen. Lindsey Graham told a "cheering" audience Tuesday that if the relationship between the U.S. and Iran doesn't improve by the end of summer, he will ask Congress to authorize going to war. The idea is silly because obviously it'll never happen, and it's probably a ploy for re-election. 

By Connor Simpson
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Sen. Lindsey Graham told a "cheering" audience Tuesday that if the relationship between the U.S. and Iran doesn't improve by the end of summer, he will ask Congress to authorize going to war. The idea is silly because obviously it'll never happen, and it's probably a ploy for re-election.

"If nothing changes in Iran, come September, October, I will present a resolution that will authorize the use of military force to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear bomb," the South Carolina Republican said, according to a post on CQ Roll Call, which was picked up by Think Progress, at a conference for members of Christians United for Israel today. "The only way to convince Iran to halt their nuclear program is to make it clear that we will take it out," Graham added.

Taking a strong-arm approach to Iran right now -- after the country elected a moderate President who may or may not want to cooperate with U.S. nuclear negotiations -- seems like a pretty terrible idea. But Graham already knows that. This bill, which will never amount to much of anything, is merely an item for his 2014 resume. He can now say he tried to act tough on national security and foreign policy, and he would have gotten away with it, too, if it wasn't for those meddling kids dang Democrats who stopped him.
This article is from the archive of our partner The Wire.
Connor Simpson is a former staff writer for The Wire. His work has appeared in Business Insider and CityLab.