Morning Vid: Lindsey Graham Says Steele's 'Uninformed' on Afghanistan

The RNC chair "is backtracking so fast, he’s going to be in Kabul fighting here pretty soon"

South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham took a little flak recently for saying the Tea Parties would "die out," but nothing compared to the barrage that hit RNC Chairman Michael Steele for suggesting he was against the Afghanistan War. Speaking from Kabul in a fourth of July interview on CBS's Face the Nation, Graham touched on the Steele flap amid extensive comments on General McChrystal's ouster, progress in the war, and the July 2011 deadline for withdrawal.

Graham fell short of calling for Steele's resignation, but when asked for his reaction, he said

SENATOR LINDSEY GRAHAM: Dismayed, angry, upset. It was an uninformed, unnecessary, unwise, untimely comment. If you’re a student of history, you would know that America cannot afford to allow Afghanistan to go back into Taliban control. We’re not here fighting a ground war to occupy this country. We’re here to help Afghans who could live in peace with us. This is not President Obama’s war. This is America’s war. The deadline of July 2011 in terms of withdrawal has to be clarified but I want to separate myself from that statement. And the good news is Michael Steele is backtracking so fast, he’s going to be in Kabul fighting here pretty soon.
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JOHN DICKERSON: Senator, yes or no. Should he resign, people have called for it?
SENATOR LINDSEY GRAHAM: It’s up to him to see if he can lead the Republican Party after this comment. I’m going to leave it up to the Republican National Committee. But I do praise him for clarifying the statement and retracting the statement. But it couldn’t have come at a worst time.