Lindsey Graham’s hawkish ideology leaves a legacy of destruction | Moustafa Bayoumi

Rarely in life do you meet someone who genuinely embodies the weight and responsibility of the word “leader.” Lindsey Graham was one of those men. He possessed remarkable intellect, matched by a mastery of the political arena that enabled him to achieve noble goals, to say nothing of his quick wit and disarming personality. I have been blessed to call him a mentor and a friend.

We shared the same worldview: America is strongest at home when we project strength abroad. It is perhaps the greatest lesson from my father’s war, World War II, a lesson taught by the failed appeasement strategies of Neville Chamberlain and the strong deterrence of Winston Churchill.

These principles played out during my tenure as Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Former President Joe Biden’s disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan telegraphed American weakness, which invites aggression, conflict, and war. There is no better example of this axiom than Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which Russian President Putin hoped would allow him to reclaim the glory of the Russian Empire.

After meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Beijing Olympics to cement their “unholy alliance,” Putin sent his tanks rolling into Ukraine. Since then, American support for Ukraine has seen its ups and downs, with critics promulgating the failed isolationist policies of 1939 and arguing oceans protect us from such aggression. The lessons of WWII were often forgotten and replaced by the teaching that America can go it alone.

Graham, however, remained steadfastly on the right side of history. My father, who bombed the Nazis on a B-17, always told me, “Son, you know you are close to the target when you start catching flak!” Graham and I both caught our fair share as we fought for Ukraine in the political trenches, but we never lost sight of the goal: peace.

Graham and I were both in Ukraine near the end of his life. While we were not traveling together, we shared the same mission. We both met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and I met with Ukrainian troops near the frontlines who were riding the momentum of a successful NATO summit. Their hope was palpable and their optimism contagious. We were initially told the war would be over in four days. Yet four years later, reports from the battlefield revealed Ukraine is winning. Empowered by the Emergency Supplemental Wartime Bill, which Graham and I fought to pass, Ukrainians have demonstrated unprecedented resilience and innovation, particularly when it comes to drone technology. Now, the Russian Federation is suffering catastrophic, unsustainable losses.

Zelensky told each of us this week that he is ready for a ceasefire, ready to negotiate, as he has been for years. Putin, on the other hand, consistently defies the international community by refusing to come to the table. Graham knew this war would only end when maximum pressure is placed on Putin and he is forced to seek a negotiated agreement, one that gives the Ukrainian people true security guarantees, unlike the failed Budapest Memorandum. That is why he spent last year working on a strong Russia sanctions bill, which I promised to introduce in the House.

In his final days, Graham proclaimed in Kyiv that he had reached an agreement with the White House and boldly stated his bill would become law. Plans were in motion to introduce it in our respective chambers this week. Then, while on a train to Warsaw, I heard the news of Graham’s passing.

America has lost a giant, and the Senate has lost a statesman of unmatched conviction. His legacy will endure not just in the policies he championed, but in the steadfast example of leadership he set for us all. There could be no greater tribute to his life and legacy than for Congress to pass his sanctions bill.

TUCKER CARLSON HAD NOTHING TO SAY ABOUT LINDSEY GRAHAM’S DEATH BUT PLENTY TO SAY ABOUT ISRAEL

In his book “The Gathering Storm,” Churchill recalled Franklin D. Roosevelt asking, “What do we call this war?” Churchill replied, “The unnecessary war,” for it could have been stopped before Adolf Hitler invaded Poland. We now have an opportunity to stop this brutal war and halt Putin’s expanding campaign of aggression in its tracks.

Let us move forward to realize Graham’s vision and achieve this noble pursuit of peace.

Michael McCaul currently represents Texas’s 10th district in the House of Representatives. He previously served as chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security and the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.