“The entire world now watches for signs that the president is finally prepared to exercise American strength to compel Iran to change its behavior,” said Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Republican leader. Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina, said flatly: “Hit Iran now. Hit them hard.”
Republicans argued that Mr. Biden had emboldened Iran by appeasing the mullahs of Tehran. They cited his efforts to negotiate a new agreement with Iran curbing its nuclear weapons program and a deal securing the release of five imprisoned Americans in exchange for helping Iran access $6 billion of its own oil money that had already been promised to Tehran for humanitarian purposes under a policy approved under former President Donald J. Trump. That money was frozen days after the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas, which is backed by Iran.
“He left our troops as sitting ducks, and now three are dead and dozens wounded, sadly as I’ve predicted would happen for months,” said Senator Tom Cotton, Republican of Arkansas. “The only answer to these attacks must be devastating military retaliation against Iran’s terrorist forces, both in Iran and across the Middle East. Anything less will confirm Joe Biden as a coward unworthy of being commander in chief.”
As for Mr. Trump, now the front-runner for the Republican nomination to challenge Mr. Biden for his old job, he claimed on social media on Sunday that “this attack would NEVER have happened if I was president, not even a chance.” In fact, Iran and its proxies did attack American and allied interests during Mr. Trump’s presidency, and at one point Mr. Trump called off a retaliatory strike that he deemed excessive. He did later order a strike that killed a top Iranian general, but when Iran responded with missile strikes that injured but did not kill American troops, Mr. Trump ordered no further action.
Mr. Biden has ordered military strikes on several occasions in the past few months, including on Christmas Day. Just hours after a drone strike by Iranian-backed militants injured three American service members, one critically, Mr. Biden ordered airstrikes in Iraq in response. He also ordered the U.S. military to target a militia commander blamed for the attack; American forces carried out the order on Jan. 4 with a drone strike in Baghdad that killed the commander, Mushtaq Jawad Kazim al-Jawari.
Kaynak: briturkish.com
