Lindsey Graham: Afghan Withdrawal Will Reverse Progress

Although several Republican leaders, including presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich, have called for troops to come home from Afghanistan, Sen. Lindsey Graham contends that the military’s presence is necessary in the unstable country.

“They’re expressing frustration, but I know why we’re there,” the South Carolina Republican said on “Fox News Sunday.”

The killings of six U.S. troops in retaliation for the burning of Qurans in Afghanistan does not represent the “total picture of what is going on” in the region, Graham said.

“We have made progress, and we do have strong allies within Afghanistan, so don’t let this snapshot ruin the strategic importance,” he said. “If we leave, and it falls back in to Taliban hands, and al-Qaida reemerges, we’ll pay a heavy price. History will not judge us by the day we left, but by what we left behind.”