The Sunday morning gabfests are generally a waste of time, but Senator Tom Cotton’s appearances are not to be missed. He was the lead guest on Face the Nation yesterday. I have posted the video at the bottom. CBS has posted the transcript here.
Robert Costa filled in for regular host Margaret Brennan. Costa asked Senator Cotton about Israel’s potential expansion of the war between Israel and Iran. This is how it went:
Well, Bob, I’m not sure that Israel is expanding the war, so much as it is trying to end the war.
I think it’s important to stress just what a huge blow the last two weeks have been against Hezbollah. Iran is behind all of these terror networks, but Hezbollah is its most potent weapon. Hezbollah has over 100,000 rockets and missiles and mortars aimed at Israel. Iran has used that threat to deter Israel for years, going back probably 20 years or so.
And now that Israel has absolutely devastated the entire leadership structure of Hezbollah, whether it’s at the attacks that came just late last week, killing not only Hassan Nasrallah and all the other leaders, or some of their other actions, or hitting their weapons depots and manufacturing sites in Syria, now is not the time for a cease-fire or to de-escalate, as Joe Biden and Kamala Harris want.
Hezbollah is on its knees. The United States should help Israel drive Hezbollah to the mat and choke it out and finish it off once and for all. That means, for the first time in decades, Iran would be exposed on its flanks with no terror proxy capable – capable of devastating Israel or our troops and our friends in the region.
That’s what we should do, not demand that we have a cease fire, de-escalate at a time when Israel is trying to win. We should let Israel win.
What about Israel’s possible ground invasion of Lebanon?
If that’s what Israel needs to do to eliminate the remnants of Hezbollah’s leadership and its arsenal, then, yes, of course.
Again, Hezbollah had over 100,00 missiles and rockets and mortars. Now a lot of those have probably already been destroyed. Israel needs to destroy all of them. A lot of Hezbollah’s leadership has been destroyed as well. This guy that you all just cited there, maybe he’s the leader. I don’t know who’s in charge of Hezbollah. I’m not sure anyone else does either.
It’s probably someone who wasn’t important enough to have a beeper or a walkie-talkie as recently as two weeks ago. But all of Hezbollah’s leadership needs to be eliminated, just like all of its arsenal needs to be eliminated, just like the United States needs to be much more forceful in attacking Iran’s terror army in Yemen, where Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have had our sailors resting like sitting ducks on the Red Sea for months.
When we finish mopping up all of these terrorist proxies, that means Iran once again is totally exposed. It no longer can threaten Israel and the United States and our friends throughout the region. That’s why we need to back Israel to the hilt and let Israel win, rather than continue to make these feckless demands for cease-fires and de-escalation that Kamala Harris and Joe Biden have been doing for a year now.
Costa then asked about potential threats to Americans in the Middle East or U.S. targets. It’s almost like he doesn’t follow the news. Senator Cotton responded:
Well, from the minute Joe Biden and Kamala Harris got to the White House, there have been threats to Americans. Iran and its proxies have attacked our troops over 100 times.
Costa interrupted to ask about threats “in the wake of this latest news[.]” Senator Cotton hewed to his point:
And we barely ever struck back. There’s been continued attacks on us.
Again, just like we should support Israel in striking back against these terrorists, we should be striking back harder again. But that’s not Kamala Harris and Joe Biden’s policy. From the very beginning, they’ve appeased and conciliated the ayatollahs. Kamala Harris, for instance, opposed Donald Trump’s strike that killed Iran’s terrorist mastermind in 2020.
Over the last four years, they’ve given away tens of billions of dollars in sanctions relief. They’ve looked the other way as Iran violates sanctions. They’ve continually put more pressure on Israel than they put on Iran’s terrorist proxy. That’s why Kamala Harris is the ayatollahs’ handpicked candidate, and why the ayatollahs are hacking into Donald Trump’s campaign and trying to kill him.
Costa turned to Ukraine. Among other points, Senator Cotton recalled that Russia stayed out of Ukraine during the Trump administration and adds:
But, again, I just want to say the chaos that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have unleashed across this world isn’t limited to the other side of the world. It happens right here. The administration just acknowledged that they released more than 13,000 convicted murderers who illegally entered this country, more than 15,000 convicted sex offenders.
That’s 28,000 rapists and murderers who illegally entered our country who Kamala Harris and Joe Biden have let roam our streets. That’s the kind of chaos that they have unleashed for the last four years and that Donald Trump will put an end to.
Costa then pressed Cotton on whether Trump should debate Harris again. It’s not exactly a burning issue, but Senator Cotton got in a final word consistent with the theme of his appearance: “The American people know what Donald Trump will do in office. Kamala Harris is still trying to fool them.”
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