Wes Hickman (202) 224-5972 or Kevin Bishop (864) 250-1417

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) today made this statement on Majority Leader Reid's comment saying the Iraq war "is lost." A member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Graham recently returned from his sixth trip to Iraq. He said: "Majority Leader Reid's willingness to withdraw and declare defeat - in the face of horrific acts of terrorism - would be a mistake for the ages. "It would undercut General Petreaus's new strategy, not yet fully implemented, and ensure the defeat of this young democracy. It's would also be a death blow to forces of moderation throughout the Middle East. "We must not allow car and suicide bombers to dictate our foreign policy. An approach of appeasement and withdrawal in the face of terrorism reminds me not of Vietnam, but of the mid-1930s. Political leaders throughout the world kept giving Hitler one more country hoping he would be satisfied. He never was. "The failure to confront evil has always cost more in the long run than can be gained in the short term. Giving Iraq to the extremists and Al Qaeda will not end the war. It only guarantees that in time we will be fighting a larger war. "History will record the terrorists who are trying to destroy the democracy in Iraq should have been confronted sooner rather than later." #####