Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) expressed his disappointment in Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin‘s strategy when it comes to the war between Israel and Hamas.
Graham appeared on State of the Union Sunday to offer his critique of Austin’s calls on Israel for a ceasefire. Austin suggested that Israel was driving civilians into the arms of the enemy, and therefore it would “replace a tactical victory with a strategic defeat.” The senator admitted that while he liked the secretary as a person, he has lost confidence in Austin because he’s “naive.”
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“He’s so naive. I mean, I just lost all confidence in this guy. How about focusing on protecting our soldiers, men, and women in Syria and Iraq? Strategic defeat would be enflaming the Palestinians. They’re already enflamed,” Graham said. “But this war has shown to me he doesn’t understand. If we were attacked like this — which we were on 9/11 — if somebody called for us within two months to have a ceasefire against al Qaeda, we would have laughed them out of town, we would have run them out of town.”
Instead, Graham said he was in favor of Israel continuing its strategy until they “destroy Hamas.” He is not alone in opposing calls for a ceasefire within the Republican Party.
“Secretary Austin is telling Israel things that are impossible to achieve,” Graham said. “Secretary Austin, the reason Palestinians are dying, Gaza is so condensed, Hamas has tunnels under apartments, under schools, under hospitals. If you’ve got a better idea of how to destroy Hamas, pass it on! Quit criticizing Israel in public.”
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It has almost been two months since Hamas launched thousands of rockets into Israel. According to the Health Ministry in Gaza, the death toll has reached 15,200 Palestinians.
A deal was struck between Hamas and Israel that induced a pause in fighting and allowed for the exchange of hostages between the two. However, Hamas broke the deal early in launching attacks against Israel before more hostages could be released.
