Divergent positions are emerging among GOP presidential candidates on U.S. involvement in Israel’s war against Iran-backed Hamas.
A day after former U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley declared that it was time for Israel to “finish off” the terrorist group, GOP presidential rival Vivek Ramaswamy blasted Haley for what he described as her “irresponsible reaction.”
On Fox News over the weekend, Haley expressed her “unequivocal support” for Israel following the brutal surprise attack by Hamas that killed more than 1,000 people, including 14 Americans.
“This is not just an attack on Israel, this is an attack on America because they hate us just as much,” the former South Carolina governor said. “And I said this to Prime Minister [Benjamin] Netanyahu: ‘Finish them. Finish them. Hamas did this. You know Iran is behind it. Finish them. They should have hell to pay for what they’ve done.’”
Campaigning in Iowa on Monday, Haley told attendees at a town hall that the U.S. should offer whatever Israel needs to defend itself and “eliminate the terrorists.”
“We are going to have to deal with terrorists the way it it needs to be dealt with, and that means you eliminate them,” said the former United Nations ambassador under former President Donald Trump.
In a press release issued Tuesday, Ramaswamy said that while the Hamas-led attacks were “barbaric and cannot be condoned,” Haley’s all-in approach is concerning.
“We require a rational response that supports Israel while avoiding another U.S.-led disaster in the Middle East,” the Ohio biotech entrepreneur said. “ I am disappointed and deeply concerned by the remarks of certain presidential candidates including Nikki Haley who have irresponsibly called the Hamas attack an ‘attack on America’ and rabidly shout ‘FINISH THEM!!’ repeatedly without offering a pragmatic path forward.”
Ramaswamy asserted the U.S. should provide Israel with diplomatic support, intelligence-sharing, and necessary munitions to defend its own homeland, “while taking special care to avoid a broader regional war in the Middle East that would *not* advance U.S. interests.”
He proposes:
1. Offer Israel robust intelligence support and stand ready to provide additional military supplies via both sale and transfer.
2. Immediately confirm an American ambassador to Israel, with the vacant embassies in Egypt, Libya, and Oman to be filled in quick succession.
3. End all further nuclear proliferation in the Middle East, including the full phase-out of Iran’s nuclear program and immediately ending Biden’s disastrous plan to share nuclear technology with Saudi Arabia.
4. Fast-track the deportation of any resident aliens who have served with Hamas or Palestinian Islamic Jihad, including extradition to Israeli custody where appropriate.
5. Work with Israel to identify countries willing to accept peaceful Palestinians who wish to escape the pressures of Hamas and facilitate their emigration.
6. Warn the UN of consequences if its historical pattern of drawing false equivalences between Israel and the terrorists who target it.”
Haley and former Vice President Mike Pence have taken the more hawkish position on the U.S. defense of its No. 1 Middle East ally, Israel, as they have in U.S. military assistance for Ukraine in its war with Russia.
“Standing With Israel Means Standing with Israel Until the War is Over and Hamas is Crushed,” Pence declared Monday afternoon on his X account (formerly Twitter).
Standing With Israel Means Standing with Israel Until the War is Over and Hamas is Crushed. 🇺🇸🇮🇱 https://t.co/hYBPsFWZGB
— Mike Pence (@Mike_Pence) October 9, 2023
Like Haley, he blamed three of his Republican presidential rivals for their America First positions.
“This is what happens when we have leading voices like Donald Trump, Vivek Ramaswamy and Ron DeSantis signaling retreat from America’s role as leader of the free world,” Pence said on CNN.
Trump said, don’t look at me. Like all of his GOP presidential opponents, the former president pointed to the guy who replaced him in the Oval Office, President Joe Biden, for the horror show produced by Hamas.
“The atrocities we are witnessing in Israel would never have happened if I was president,” Trump said in New Hampshire.
Despite the internecine campaign battles, the Republican candidates have mainly trained their fire on Biden and an administration that has coddled Iran, state sponsor of terrorism since 1984. The administration has been widely criticized for a prisoner exchange deal that allowed Iran to tap into $6 billion that was frozen in South Korea banks — frozen since Trump’s 2019 ban on Iranian oil exports and sanctions on its financial institutions.
The money, according to the administration, is to be used for humanitarian purposes. But money is fungible, critics say, and Hamas has claimed its brutal assault on Israel is supported by Iran.
“Biden’s weakness invited the attack. Biden’s negotiation funded the attack. Biden admin wanted Israel to stand down after the attack.At this point, Biden is complicit,” GOP presidential candidate U.S. Senator Tim Scott (R-S.C.) wrote on his X account.
Biden’s weakness invited the attack.
Biden’s negotiation funded the attack.
Biden admin wanted Israel to stand down after the attack.
At this point, Biden is complicit.
— Tim Scott (@votetimscott) October 8, 2023
Biden finally got around to addressing the nation about the Israel-Hamas conflict on Tuesday afternoon, confirming that Americans are known to be among hostages taken by the terrorist group over the weekend. Not known for his speed in foreign policy, Biden said he told Netanyahu that, “if the United States experienced what Israel is experiencing, our response would be swift, decisive, and overwhelming.”
But U.S. involvement elsewhere, particularly the nearly $50 billion in military aid sent to Ukraine, is depleting the old Arsenal of Democracy. Ramaswamy and other critics of further U.S. entanglements say they are concerned about what an overly hawkish position in assisting Israel will mean for U.S. resources and preparedness for bigger and increasingly aggressive enemies.
“The attack on Israel, one of America’s closest allies, not only has created the possibility of a two-front war in the Middle East but has also stretched U.S. and European armories and political willpower. The crisis comes at a time when the West was already having trouble summoning more ammunition and money to support Ukraine’s counteroffensive,” Jack Detsch wrote in a piece published Monday in Foreign Policy headline, “What Will Russia Do with Gaza Chaos?”
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M.D. Kittle is the National Political Editor for The Star News Network.
Photo “Vivek Ramaswamy” by Vivek Ramaswamy. Photo “Nikki Haley” by Nikki Haley.
