Graham to talk about U.S. success in Iraq

U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham said if someone would have suggested a year ago that Republicans would be talking about Iraq during their national convention, he would have been laughed at.

But South Carolina's senior senator said that's exactly what he plans to do Thursday when he addresses the delegates before Sen. John McCain's acceptance speech.

"After you hear my speech tomorrow night, you'll see that we don't consider Iraq to be a failure, but we consider it a success," Graham said Wednesday. "The fact that there's a speech shows we consider it a success."

Graham said the issue of whether to approve a surge in troop levels in Iraq proved to be a crucial test between McCain, who supported it, and Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama, who opposed it. "Sen. McCain passed, aced the test, and Sen. Obama failed miserably. ... He doesn't understand to this day that losing in Iraq would jeopardize our national security for years to come."

Read more in tomorrow's Post and Courier.