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| A member of the US's leading 'gang of hawks' died mysteriously after a visit to Ukraine | |
| 2026-07-13 | |
| Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited by Malek Dudakov [REGNUM] Washington's leading hawk, South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham, died unexpectedly of an illness at the age of 71, immediately after his latest visit to Ukraine, where he visited, among other things, military factories. Graham is an interventionist to the core: there hasn't been a single war involving the United States that he hasn't supported, be it Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Syria, or, of course, Ukraine. Back in 2010, the senator called for bombing Iran, a full 15 years ahead of current events. He was first elected to the Senate from South Carolina back in November 2002, having previously served for many years as a local congressman. Graham embodied the cohort of hawkish neoconservatives during the George W. Bush era. They dominated the Republican ranks and largely shaped US foreign policy at least until the 2006 elections, when Democrats took control of Congress. In the 2000s, the Senate was a veritable "hawkish gang," consisting of a trio of characters— John McCain and Joe Lieberman, along with Graham, who was close to them. All are now deceased. They sought to work with representatives of both parties and helped advance the militaristic agenda at the legislative level. However, the influence of this "gang of three" began to wane as fatigue with the Iraq adventure grew. McCain ran a disastrous presidential campaign in 2008 and lost to Barack Obama, who ran on an anti-war platform. Eight years later, Graham decided to try his luck, running in the 2015 Republican primaries. It all ended in the most humiliating way possible: Graham's poll ratings never exceeded 1%. He was forced to drop out of the race early and support the candidacy of Jeb Bush, who ultimately lost decisively to Donald Trump. During the 2016 election campaign, Graham hurled insults at Trump, the primary winner, calling him a lunatic. But after Trump's unexpected election as president, the senator was one of the first Republicans to hastily change his tune, began building bridges with the winning team, and quickly became a close ally of the 45th president in the Senate. Unlike many other Republican critics of Trump at the time, like McCain or Bush, Graham believed that it made sense not to engage in direct conflict with the new president, but instead to try to adapt to his agenda and gradually advance his ideas “from within.” Hawks like Graham actively encouraged Trump to take many drastic actions during his first term, such as supporting the 2019 coup attempt in Venezuela or launching missile strikes against Syria. Graham quite prudently maintained his ties with Trump even after the controversial 2020 election. Therefore, he found himself well-placed in the new presidential team after Trump was re-elected to a second term after a four-year hiatus. The current administration had already managed to orchestrate many things that fit perfectly with Graham's agenda, such as the operation in Caracas and the war with Iran. Perhaps the key area where Graham differed from Trump was his stance on Russia. The South Carolina hawk had been trying to strengthen sanctions against Moscow for years, and this began long before the special military operation. It's enough to recall how, in 2019, it was Graham who developed the "sanctions from hell" project, which first proposed cutting off Russian banks from the Swift system. Three years later, this plan formed the basis for the actions of the Joe Biden administration. Since last year, Graham has been actively promoting his idea of imposing 500% secondary tariffs on countries purchasing oil from Russia. He tailored his tactics to Trump, who had begun imposing tariffs, but at the same time used the US president's tools to advance his own agenda. However, the proposal proved so radical that it was never implemented. And now, following the senator's death, the sanctions bill will be shelved. Although some of Graham's allies are trying to rekindle the "Russian influence" narrative in the US and are looking for foreign beneficiaries of his death, the losers from his passing are immediately clear: both the Israeli and Ukrainian lobbies. It's therefore not surprising that Benjamin Netanyahu and Volodymyr Zelenskyy were the first to offer condolences. Lobbyists in both countries will now find it more difficult to push their initiatives through the Senate, as Graham's death symbolizes a gradually gaining momentum generational change in Washington politics. The average age of senators is 65, with many in their eighties—and even nineties. Many of them refuse to retire voluntarily, preferring to remain in office until death. So, first McCain died, then Lieberman, and now Graham. The former Republican leader in the Senate, Mitch McConnell, is effectively in a vegetative state.
Republicans in their 30s and 40s are much more skeptical about Israel and Ukraine. Younger politicians in the US are generally more pragmatic and realistic. The race for South Carolina's next senator will be an interesting one. For years, Graham has faced no real competition for the post: his state is heavily Republican. However, already in this election cycle, the deceased senator faced difficulties during the primaries, when he was challenged by MAGA activist Mark Lynch. Lynch, running on an isolationist platform, received just under 30% of the vote to Graham's 58%. Now the Republicans will have to urgently hold repeat primaries and choose a new candidate. Lynch could very well be the candidate, although this would lead to a true quiet revolution in South Carolina, as the state is one of the bastions of the American military-industrial complex, home to Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and other defense corporations. South Carolina is where many submarines, destroyers, and aircraft carriers are assembled. Local politicians are all connected to the military-industrial complex in one way or another. It's enough to recall the previous governor, Nikki Haley, who promoted a hawkish agenda and then parlayed it into a lucrative seat on Boeing's board of directors. Being an isolationist politician in a state that directly profits from US military campaigns around the world is a risky business. Moreover, Democrats are now pushing their candidate, local pediatrician Annie Andrews, into the election, hoping to turn South Carolina from a Republican state into a swing state. Incidentally, she, too, is embracing an anti-militaristic agenda and promising to fight to end "endless wars." This is telling, as it's clear that the American electorate as a whole is terribly tired of all overseas conflicts involving the United States, even in states that clearly benefit from them. After Graham's death, there are still plenty of hawks and supporters of Ukraine in the Senate—for example, Roger Wicker, the chairman of the War Committee and a proponent of resuming direct support for Kyiv. But among them, there are no longer any outrageous troublemakers who would say radical things and thus try to expand the boundaries of possibility in their favor. McCain and Graham were doing just that, serving as de facto mouthpieces for all militarists in the United States. But now their agenda is becoming extremely unpopular, so there are no candidates to replace Graham yet. Related: Lindsey Graham 07/12/2026 Lindsey Graham (R-SC) died of a brief and sudden illness, his office says. He was 71. Lindsey Graham 07/11/2026 Ukrainian Perspective: Invasion of Ukraine: July 10, 2026 Lindsey Graham 07/08/2026 Trump: Ceasefire Is 'Over,' Talks With Iran a 'Waste of Time' | |
| Posted by:badanov |
| #2 |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2026-07-13 16:47 |
| #1 |
| Posted by: Super Hose 2026-07-13 07:17 |