NBC "Today"-Transcript

Interview

NBC "Today"-Transcript

MR. LAUER: On the other side of the aisle, as Senator Obama just said, a different perspective on the war in Iraq; South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham, also waiting to speak on the floor of the Senate.

Senator, good morning to you.

SEN. GRAHAM: Good morning.

MR. LAUER: Was anything accomplished last night?

SEN. GRAHAM: I slept most of the night. I don't think so. (Laughs.) At the end of the day, we did showcase our differences. That's probably good in a democracy. No votes were changed. So if your question is, did anybody's vote change because of the debate, I doubt it. But this is democracy, and people had their say, and we're showing our differences.

MR. LAUER: What it's really about is an amendment to start bringing U.S. troops out of Iraq within 120 days. There's a strange dynamic here. You've got some key Republicans who've broken ranks with the president over the last couple of weeks, people like Senators Voinovich, Domenici, Lugar, Warner. In some form or another, they're all saying the surge isn't working. However, they're not crossing the aisle on this particular amendment.

Let me read you what Dick Durbin had to say about that. He said, "Many of these senators have been back home telling their constituents they've given up on the president's policy in Iraq. Well, the question is, will they have the courage to now vote with those who want real change?" What are those guys going to do, in your opinion, Senator?

SEN. GRAHAM: I think they will oppose Levin-Reed, which would say that we're going to start withdrawing troops in 120 days from Iraq, because they believe the consequences of withdrawal really would be devastating at this point.

If I can, let me try to put the differences in perspective. Senator Levin and Reed, and I think Senator Obama and others, believe that we've got so many people over there now that the Iraqi politicians are relying on us too much and they're not making the hard decisions because we're trying to -- we're propping them up; and that if we say we're going to leave at a date certain, they'll begin to get their act together. That's the theory of Levin-Reed.

My belief is that the old strategy failed, that al Qaeda got stronger because we were not out in communities. We were behind walls. And now with the surge, with 30,000 more additional combat troops, al Qaeda is on the run. Anbar has been recaptured. And we're making progress now that we could have never made before.

MR. LAUER: So you want to give it time, at least until September, when we hear from General Petraeus.

SEN. GRAHAM: I want to defeat al Qaeda in Iraq, because no matter where they gather in other places, if they lose in Iraq, that will be great. And I also want to understand that if you leave at a date certain, it's not about when we left but by what we left behind. And I would like to leave behind a secure Iraq, and I still think that's possible.

MR. LAUER: Senator Lindsey Graham, as I said, you're waiting to speak on the Senate floor as well this morning, so I thank you for your time in addition this morning.

SEN. GRAHAM: Thank you.

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