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On Monday night, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) was on Fox News’ On The Record with Great Van Susteren. During the show, he insinuated that Vladimir Putin felt empowered to invade Ukraine due to Benghazi. Below is the transcript from that segment.

VAN SUSTEREN: I can’t tell whether you ripped the president more on foreign policy or the Washington Post Editorial Board when they described it fantasy. But you said that the president has a weak and indecisive policy that invites aggression. GRAHAM: Right. This is a symptom of greater problem. It really, in many ways, started with Benghazi, when our consulate was overrun and our first ambassador was killed in thirty-something years in the line of duty. Three other brave Americans died and not one person has been held accountable. You’re sending absolutely the wrong signal to our foes around the country.

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Of course, Graham faced ridicule from pretty much every sane person in the Beltway for making it appear that the deaths of four Americans 17 months ago at a consulate in Libya led to Russia deciding to utilize military force against one of the former Soviet republics. While you would think that Sen. Graham would have learned from that remark and maybe tone it down in the future, he decided to double-down on Tuesday and continue to fire away from Crazytown.

Putin basically came to the conclusion after Benghazi, Syria, Egypt – everything Obama has been engaged in – he’s a weak indecisive leader. — Lindsey Graham (@GrahamBlog) March 4, 2014

The world is NEVER in a better place when you have a weak, indecisive American president. And Russia is a symptom of that weakness. — Lindsey Graham (@GrahamBlog) March 4, 2014

It started with Benghazi. When you kill Americans and nobody pays a price, you invite this type of aggression. #Ukraine — Lindsey Graham (@GrahamBlog) March 4, 2014

Putin basically came to the conclusion after Benghazi, Syria, Egypt – everything Obama has been engaged in – he’s a weak indecisive leader. — Lindsey Graham (@GrahamBlog) March 4, 2014

I think Putin believes Obama is really all talk and no action. And unless we push back soon, the worse is yet to come. — Lindsey Graham (@GrahamBlog) March 4, 2014

It really in many ways started with Benghazi when our consulate was overrun and our first Ambassador was killed… http://t.co/a19g5OxmS1 — Lindsey Graham (@GrahamBlog) March 4, 2014

Much like his good buddy John McCain, Graham is trying to force the President to commit to a full-scale war with Russia. Let me repeat that. With Russia. He figures that by calling the President names and bringing up Benghazi he is going to get his neo-con fantasy made true. He and the other neo-cons will not only get to relive the Cold War, they’ll actually get to put boots on the ground and have a large-scale military operation against the Russians.

Graham is also hoping to somehow bring up Benghazi as this earth-shattering, foreign-policy dictating event that will shape world events for decades to come and be a huge black eye to this administration. While tragic and perhaps even avoidable to a degree, the Benghazi attack did NOT empower Putin because it showed that Obama is too ‘weak and indecisive.’ Graham is playing a senseless game of Six Degrees of Separation by reaching these conclusions.

Considering that fewer and fewer people are taking anything Sen. McCain says seriously, you’d think that Graham wouldn’t follow him down that rabbit hole. But he has, and it seems like he’s taken a full dose of whatever McCain is on. Not only are both men saying near-traitorous things about our Commander-In-Chief, they are seemingly showing Putin far more respect than their own President. It is one thing to express a different opinion or wish that the President would take a different course of action. That is totally understandable in this political climate. However, to openly deride the President and ostensibly root for his failure during a period of international unrest is beyond the pale. The actions of Graham and McCain are reprehensible.