Graham hits Paul on call to bring troops home: ‘Last time we ignored Afghanistan we got 9/11’

Sen. Lindsey Graham (S.C.) on Thursday hit back at his Republican colleague Sen. Rand Paul (Ky.) for suggesting that bringing U.S. troops home from Afghanistan would help solve budget issues. 

“Last time we ignored Afghanistan we got 9/11. Nearly 3000 lives lost and billions of dollars spent because we ignored Afghanistan. Never again,” Graham tweeted.

Graham, who sits on the Senate Armed Services Committee, added that only Paul and the Taliban think it’s a good idea to pull out of Afghanistan right away.

Last time we ignored Afghanistan we got 9/11.

Nearly 3000 lives lost and billions of dollars spent because we ignored Afghanistan.

Never again.

— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) February 8, 2018

These are serious and dangerous times.

President @realDonaldTrump has chosen to listen and follow sound military advice in taking the gloves off when it comes to fighting radical Islam, particularly in Afghanistan.

I wish Senator Paul would do the same.

— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) February 8, 2018

{mosads}Graham’s comments followed Paul’s Thursday appearance on Fox News, in which he argued some of the country’s military funding issues could be solved by pulling troops out of Afghanistan. 

“We’ve had enormous amount of spending, we just have too much war,” Paul said on “Your World with Neil Cavuto.”

“We’d have a lot more money and I could give a raise to every soldier out there if we’d just come home from Afghanistan. It’s time to come home. There is no military victory there,” Paul said.

In an op-ed published the day before, Paul said he would support President Trump’s idea to hold a military parade if it meant declaring victory in Afghanistan and having the event to celebrate troops returning home. 

Paul is delaying a Senate vote on a two-year funding bill that must pass before midnight Thursday to prevent a government shutdown. Paul has been critical of the deal, which would increase budget caps by roughly $300 billion. 

He has long lamented the cost of the war in Afghanistan, which the Pentagon said Wednesday will cost $45 billion in 2018 alone.