LindseyGraham.com





The process being used in the House to impeach President Trump is
an affront to any concept of due process and will further divide
the country.















John,

Please take a look at a recent op-ed I published with Fox News. I
hope you'll read it below and share it with friends and family.

Sincerely,



Lindsey Graham
United States Senator








By Senator Lindsey Graham
Fox News
Thursday, March 31, 2022

Like most freedom-loving people in the world, I am in awe of the
fight and determination shown by the Ukrainian people to protect
their nation and stop Putin's war machine.

President Zelenskyy of Ukraine has truly risen to the occasion,
and the men, women, and children of Ukraine are defining for
future generations the terrible sacrifices that are sometimes
required to remain a free people. As Ukraine and Russia discuss
how to end this conflict, it is imperative that the United States
and the Western democratic alliance does not sell out Ukraine.

It is my opinion, based upon what we have seen on the
battlefield, the capabilities of the Russian military have been
vastly overestimated, while the Ukrainian resistance has been
underestimated. Ukraine, with the right support, can, and is
winning this fight.

Unfortunately, the Biden administration has been slow,
indecisive, and confusing when it comes to providing Ukraine with
lethal weapons and other assistance that could turn the tide of
battle.

Recent reports indicating Russian armed forces are
reconsolidating in the east is due to the strong resistance
provided by the Ukrainians in Kyiv and other regions. The real
reason for Putin's military adjustment is due to the success of
the Ukrainian forces.

However, I fear that ultimately the bravery shown by Ukrainians
on the battlefield will be replaced by American and Western
alliance weakness at the negotiating table.

We must keep in mind the goal is to end this conflict on
favorable terms and not set the stage for future invasions by
Putin of Ukraine and other areas. History has shown us that
agreements based solely upon the principle of "peace at any
price" eventually results in "no peace at all."

We must not allow Putin's outrageous and aggressive attack on
Ukraine to become a victory for him. Any negotiated settlement
should not give Putin one inch of Ukrainian territory, to include
the Donbas region and the Crimean Peninsula. To do so would
legitimize the rule of the gun over the rule of law. It would
also incentivize him to go further in his territorial conquests,
which is clearly his intention.

Putin's ambition is to recreate the Russian Empire and the Soviet
Union - not to create a buffer zone between him and NATO. Any
settlement must recognize this ambition by creating barriers to
future military misadventure by Putin. To accomplish this, the
democratic West must be willing to give security guarantees to
Ukraine that would require us to come to their aid in the event
of future military action as requested by President Zelenskyy.

It must be clear to Putin that if he remains in power and tries
this again, his underwhelming army will not just be met by stiff
resistance from Ukraine, but from others who believe in freedom
and democracy.

In the mid-1990s, the Budapest Memorandum led to the transfer of
nuclear weapons from Ukraine to Russia. The Memorandum contained
vague terms promising Ukrainian sovereignty in return for giving
up the third-largest stockpile of nuclear weapons in the world.
The signatories to the agreement - the United States, Russia, and
the United Kingdom - clearly led Ukraine to believe that if they
gave up their nuclear weapons, they would be allowed to live as a
sovereign nation, free and clear of Russian domination.

In hindsight, the agreement was a debacle. We cannot afford to
make the same mistake twice.

Any security guarantees given today must be clear and concise,
leaving no doubt about the Western alliance's willingness to
defend Ukraine in a future conflict with Russia. This would
totally change the future calculation for Putin or another future
leader of Russia who dreams of again redrawing the map of Europe.

Outside of the negotiating table, Western nations should pledge
to themselves and each other there will be no backsliding on
efforts to wean our economies off of Putin's oil and gas as soon
as possible. It is more imperative than ever that we stop fueling
Putin's war machine and regime of terror. While Europe finally
appears to have received the message that Putin is an unreliable
partner, the United States should continue driving the message
home.

As for Western leaders calling for an end to Putin's reign, I
have no problem with world leaders speaking forcefully and
directly to this point. Putin is responsible for an illegal
invasion of a sovereign nation and the deaths of thousands of
innocent civilians. He is responsible for the assassination of
political opponents. Putin has compiled more than a 20-year track
record of war crimes.

If these reasons alone do not call for or support Putin's removal
at the hands of the Russian people, then what more would it take
to call for Putin's removal? The bottom line - if it is not
obvious by now, it never will be - you cannot trust Putin.

Putin should be considered a war criminal by the international
community in perpetuity. Remember Mariupol. Are we really going
to allow him to attend future G20 meetings? Is it possible that
he could speak to the United Nations General Assembly? I simply
cannot imagine any of those happening.

For years, the United States and the Western world have taken the
wrong approach to Putin. Putin does not believe in democracy or
in freedom. The democratic values we and our allies hold dear,
Putin holds in contempt. On rare occasions our interests will
overlap, but those are few and far between.

The world is watching. What happens during negotiations between
Russia and Ukraine will put China and Iran, both who dream of
conquests as well, on notice. If we end the war in Ukraine in a
dishonorable fashion, we will only set the stage for more
conflict, more bloodshed and more chaos in the years to come.

Expressing our support for the Russian people to remove Putin
from power is the least we can do, given the suffering he has
thrust upon them and the carnage he has imposed on so many in the
region. He and his cronies have stolen the Russian people blind,
murdered tens of thousands, and Putin will go down in history as
one of the most horrendous war criminals of the 21st century.

Our war is not with the Russian people. They are as much of a
victim of Putin as anyone. Whether the Russian people remove him
from power will be up to them, but we must be clear that when it
comes to Putin, he cannot be victorious in his desire to destroy
Ukraine. Enough is enough.

Without strong security guarantees to Ukraine, Putin will be
right back at it again and others will follow. If you believe,
as I do, that Putin wants to rewrite the map of Europe then we
must get this right.



































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