GRAHAM: I think it would be a good exercise for the Congress to look at ways to trim up the spending, which has been out of control since the administration came into power, and prior towards this war, the way it should be. So you are against the tax, but you are for cutting spending to pay for this, not increasing the deficit? Senator Graham? You're against - let me first get Senator Graham on one point there. STEPHANOPOULOS: I want to - I want to ask Senator Sanders to comment on this, but first, let me press you on that. I do want to let Bernie and anyone else listening know that from my point of view, the president is correct in assessing that Afghanistan is a war that must be won because the national security implications of what happens in Afghanistan will follow this country for decades, so I intend to support the president.
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So I welcome a debate about how to control government spending and pay for the war. Where does our national security rate in terms of spending? Are there things that we can do in the stimulus package? Can we trim up the health care bill and other big-ticket items to pay for a war that we can't afford to lose? GRAHAM: Well, I'd like to see an endeavor to see if we can cut current spending and find some dollars that we're spending today to pay for the war, and prioritize American spending. STEPHANOPOULOS: Does he have a point there, Senator Graham? If we're going to fight a war, shouldn't the American people pay for it?
I hope he says that, without any uncertain terms. We're going to put measurements and benchmarks on the Afghan government, but we're going to have troops in Afghanistan to win the conflict. With this new surge of forces, Taliban will never take back over Afghanistan. This is the place where the Taliban took control after the Russians left, aligned themselves with Al Qaida, and attacked this nation and killed 3,000 Americans, and I hope the president will tell the world, our troops and anybody listening Tuesday, that will never happen again. This is not just any place on the planet. The Iranians are threatening to withdraw from talks regarding their nuclear programs, and we'll be evaluated by some pretty tough characters in the world as to how we handle Afghanistan. The whole world is watching what we're doing there. GRAHAM: Well, I'd like to hear the details from the president Tuesday, but I would support an increase in troops, for the reasons that Bernie just kind of indicated about Pakistan. SANDERS: I have a real problem supporting 30,000 or 40,000 more troops and $100 billion more a year for that war on top of what we're spending in Iraq. So does that mean you're not going to support this? STEPHANOPOULOS: But you know the Russians are not going to be going back. So what I want to see is some real international cooperation, not just from Europe, but from Russia and from China, because what happens in Afghanistan impacts what happens in Pakistan.
military are doing the work that the rest of the world should be doing? So I've got a real problem about expanding this war where the rest of the world is sitting around and saying, isn't it a nice thing that the taxpayers of the United States and the U.S.
And when we go Christmas shopping, we're going to be buying our products from China, who are lending us money to fight the war in Afghanistan. Piece in the paper today, one out of four kids in this country are on food stamps. The gap between the rich and the poor is growing wider. You know, if I were to put Afghanistan into the context of what's happening in America today, and what's happening now is not only a $12 trillion national debt we're in the midst of the worst economic recession since the Great Depression of the 1930s. SANDERS: I have real concerns with that, George. That appears to give General McChrystal most of what he asked for. troops for Afghanistan, supplemented by about 5,000 or 6,000 NATO forces, if they can get them. It sounds like President Obama is set to announce about 30,000 new U.S. We've seen the details of this strategy leak out over the last several days. STEPHANOPOULOS: And Senator Sanders, let me begin with you. Now, the cadets are likely to be a receptive audience, but will the country rally behind President Obama? Will the new strategy work? And will Congress come up with the cash to pay for it? That's topic A for our roundtable today, and we're going to get to them in just a minute, but we begin with two key senators, Republican Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and independent Bernie Sanders of Vermont. STEPHANOPOULOS: Tuesday night, the president travels to West Point to announce his new strategy and more troops for Afghanistan. 29, 2009 - "This Week with George Stephanopoulos" Nov.