Sen. Lindsey Graham had an expletive lined up for a CNN reporter who said President Barack Obama pulled troops out of Iraq because of a Status of Forces Agreement.
During a Sunday interview on CNN’s “State of the Union,” Graham said that he doesn’t approve of President Donald Trump’s decision to pull troops from Syria and Afghanistan but added that the president inherited a “bad hand” from Obama. (RELATED: Obama’s Syria Ambassador Backs Trump’s Decision To Pull Troops)
“Everything we’re dealing with today falls on Obama’s watch,” Graham argued. “He’s the one who withdrew from Iraq.”
WATCH:
“But he did it because there was a Status of Forces Agreement,” host Dana Bash interrupted.
The U.S. and Iraq finalized a Status of Forces Agreement in 2008 wherein the U.S. government agreed to pull all troops out of Iraq by the end of 2011. However, the agreement was dependent on the current status of ground operations and the Bush administration expected that Obama would renegotiate the deal rather than pull out all of the troops at once.
“No, that’s a bunch of bullshit,” Graham responded to Bash’s point. “Pardon my French — that’s a complete lie.”
“That didn’t happen?” Bash challenged.
Graham doubled down and asserted that pulling the troops out of Iraq was a personal desire of Obama’s rather than something that was forced because of an agreement between the two countries.
“[Trump] was dealt a bad hand by Obama and he needs to play it better than he’s playing it,” Graham said. “I’m gonna talk to him at lunch.”