(New York) Brandishing a cap reading “Free Cuba” in front of the camera, South Carolina Republican Senator Lindsey Graham says to Fox News host Maria Bartiromo: “Do you see this cap? Stay tuned. The liberation of Cuba is upon us! »
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With that, Donald Trump’s faithful ally shows off another cap, on which the words “Make Iran great again” stand out, echoing the president’s famous slogan.
“We are marching across the world, we are cleansing the planet of bad guys, and we are going to establish relationships with new partners who will make us prosperous and safe,” he says with boundless enthusiasm.
And to continue, in the same excited tone: “I have never seen anything – or anyone – like it. It’s Ronald Reagan, but more. Donald Trump is redefining the world order in ways that no one could have imagined a year ago. He is the greatest commander in chief of all time, our army is the best of all time. »
Then, speaking of the next two weeks in Iran, he added, during this interview broadcast on March 8: “We are going to bomb these people to the point of annihilation. »
A personal triumph
Since the start of the war in Iran, Lindsey Graham has demonstrated in other speeches and interviews this same martial exuberance which has earned him the treatment of a “crazy uncle” or a “homicidal maniac” by some of his critics.
Even Meghan McCain – daughter of former Arizona senator and mentor of Lindsey Graham, John McCain – finds that the latter is not an asset to a cause she supports.
“He is scaring people and hurting the message you are trying to send to the American public about the war in Iran,” the conservative commentator wrote on X, imploring the Trump administration to stop using Lindsey Graham as its spokesperson.
However, no offense to his many critics, the war in Iran represents a personal triumph for Lindsey Graham, hence his petulance. 10 years ago, while running for the Republican nomination for the 2016 presidential election, Donald Trump ranked the senator, one of his opponents, among the “war-mongers” and “neoconservatives” who had dragged the United States into a “stupid” war in Iraq.
Like John McCain, Lindsey Graham advocated the bombing of Iran to precipitate regime change in Tehran.
This triumph is not accidental.
The war, yes sir !
Several factors contributed to Donald Trump’s decision to bomb Iran. The pressure exerted by the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, is part of this. Ditto for the operation that led to the capture of Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro, whose almost perfect execution plunged the president into a state close to euphoria.
But Lindsey Graham’s role cannot be overlooked. During Donald Trump’s first term, the senator and other Republican administration hawks, including Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and national security adviser John Bolton, tried in vain to convince the president to attack Iran.
Lindsey Graham returned to the charge during the transition period before Donald Trump’s second term, and after.
According to an enlightening report from Wall Street JournalMr. Graham took advantage of his numerous rounds of golf with the master of Mar-a-Lago to hammer home the idea that Iran remained an obstacle to the normalization of relations in the Middle East.
Idea that he repeated in a column published two days before the start of Operation “Epic Fury”.
“If this regime is replaced, normalization between Saudi Arabia and Israel will become possible again,” he wrote.
His friend Bibi
Lindsey Graham is also in close contact with Benjamin Netanyahu. During his frequent visits to Israel, he receives from his host classified information to which he does not have access in Washington, according to his own confidences in Wall Street Journal. In return, he advises his friend Bibi on the best way to present this information to convince Donald Trump of the course of action in the Middle East.
He does not hide his enthusiasm at the idea of being able to influence a president who has become a warmonger.
“What I don’t understand is why more people don’t do it. Try to shape events,” he told Wall Street Journal.
Does he have any doubts about what happens next in Iran? If he has any, he does not express them in public. On Saturday, he instead applauded U.S. strikes against military installations on Kharg Island, where Iran’s largest crude oil export terminal is located.
And he mentioned the takeover of this strategic island by the Marines.
“Whoever controls Kharg Island controls the fate of this war. Semper Fi,” he wrote on X, recalling the motto of the Marines.
Its own motto is obvious: war, yes sir !
