The State of Israel successfully assassinated Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah over the weekend, bringing the terror organization that much closer to destruction. Representative Mike Waltz (R-FL) discussed the expected response from the Biden-Harris Administration, suggesting they would "squander" the opportunity to cripple Hezbollah's sponsor Iran in a recent appearance on Fox Business's Mornings with Maria.
Substitute host Cheryl Casone began the discussion by playing a clip from last September where National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan suggested the Middle East was "quieter" than it ever was just one week before Hamas launched the horrific attack of October 7th, noting the irony of his words in contrast with the current escalation in hostilities.
Rep. Waltz agreed, calling Sullivan's previous remarks "a sad victory lap that has now haunted the entire world. The underpinnings of their entire approach to the Middle East was flawed."
Additionally, Rep. Waltz called President Biden, Vice President Harris, and Secretary of State Antony Blinken's repeated calls to "de-escalate "a new code word for 'appease' and for an appeasement strategy."
The Florida Congressman repeated a familiar analogy of the Biden-Harris Administration acting "like the kids on the schoolyard that when facing down a bully just try to give them more lunch money or give them their Fruit Roll-Up or their ham sandwich. They are constantly trying to give a different kind of concession to Iran."
"And what [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu and the Israelis know? When you are facing down a bully, sometimes you have to punch him in the mouth. Sometimes you have to escalate to de-escalate," Waltz continued.
As a result, Israel should receive praise for its recent actions, "but the reality is, Hezbollah will rebuild, Hamas will rebuild, [and] the Houthis will continue to attack international shipping as long as Iran is flush with cash. We know how to deal with that," The Florida Congressman repeated.
"Number one, you flood the global supply with cheap American oil and gas. And number two, you put sanctions on Chinese buyers and refiners of Iranian oil, which has passed out of the House and [Senate Majority Leader Chuck] Schumer (D-NY) has been sitting on. You have to constrain Iran's cash in order to make this a long-term victory for Israel and for the region. This is a golden opportunity to do that, and I fear the next couple of months, Biden and Harris are going to squander it," Waltz concluded.
