'A Friend That Lives Up To The Name': McConnell Urges Support For Israel Ahead Of Netanyahu's Speech

3 months ago

During remarks on the Senate floor, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) spoke about the need for stronger US support for Israel.

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Transcript

00:00Now, on another matter, tomorrow the Capitol will welcome Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu,

00:05the democratically elected leader of America's closest ally in the Middle East,

00:10to address a joint meeting of Congress for the fourth time. It's a pivotal moment for the U.S.-

00:17Israel alliance and for Israel's war against savage Iran-backed terrorists. This is an

00:25existential conflict for Israel, but it's also a test of America's reliability and a challenge

00:33to the entire free world. I look forward to hearing Prime Minister's remarks.

00:40Unfortunately, some of the leaders who could learn the most from the experience of the battle-tested,

00:46duly elected leader of a foreign democracy apparently will not be among us.

00:52The Vice President, who traditionally presides over joint sessions of Congress,

00:56apparently can't spare the time to demonstrate even symbolic support for the only democracy

01:02in the Middle East. Of course, Israel deserves more than symbolism. It deserves the time,

01:10space, and material support to guarantee its security and defeat the terrorists who started

01:18this war. But no matter how many times I say it, no matter how many of our colleagues affirm

01:24Israel's right to exist, no matter how sternly the President insists that his commitment to

01:30Israel is ironclad, America's actions actually speak otherwise. The administration's policy

01:37toward Israel has often compounded the challenges our ally faces. It has withheld critical military

01:46assistance and tried to micromanage Israel's military operations. Washington Democrats have

01:52struggled to forcefully condemn the scourge of anti-Semitism and terrorist sympathy running

01:56rampant across university campuses and throughout the American left. Instead, they've indulged the

02:04mob, engaging in grotesquely hypocritical efforts to meddle in Israel's domestic politics and call

02:12for the removal of its democratic elected leader. And this is just in the past nine months,

02:20but the Commander-in-Chief's failure to deter enemies of Israel and America is a debacle

02:25years in the making. The chaos fomented by Iran and its proxies across the Middle East

02:33is no surprise. When you consider the siege this administration has sown,

02:39desperation to return to a failed nuclear deal told Iran that once again he'll leverage over

02:48America. Rescinding the Houthis' terrorist designation told Iran-backed groups that

02:53America isn't serious about imposing consequences for their savage violence. A humiliating withdrawal

03:02from Afghanistan invited allies and adversaries alike to question America's competence

03:07and America's resolve. Failure to respond decisively to Iran-backed strikes against

03:15American personnel, interests, and partners across the region told the world's most active

03:21state sponsor of terror that the world's only superpower was unwilling to act like one.

03:27Today, America and our partners are reaping the consequences of the Biden administration's

03:33weakness. This weekend, this weekend's deadly strike in Tel Aviv was the latest in more than

03:41200 Houthi attacks on Israeli soil since October 7th. It is merely a coincidence that this attack

03:52landed just yards from a U.S. diplomatic facility. The same terrorists are holding

03:59global commerce hostage in the Red Sea and happily trading thousand-dollar drones for

04:04million-dollar U.S. Navy interceptors. They've concluded correctly it seems that waging war

04:10on America and our interests is a low-cost proposition. And this isn't the calculus of some

04:19autonomous terrorists. We're talking about a campaign coordinated by the master terrorists

04:29in Tehran. As one Hezbollah field commander told a reporter recently, quote,

04:35the Iranians want us to escalate, so we are escalating. The Iranians control every bullet

04:43we have. The sworn enemies of the great Satan and the little Satan are emboldened.

04:51They're wreaking havoc on America and Israel for pennies on the dollar. And they're working

04:59with Russia, China, and North Korea to challenge the American-led order all around the world.

05:06Just as core U.S. interests are at stake in Russia's war against Ukraine,

05:11they're at stake in the Middle East as well. Tomorrow, as on numerous occasions in our

05:17history, Congress will hear from a close friend of America on the front lines against this global

05:23effort to undermine the American-led order. Prime Minister Netanyahu deserves our attention,

05:31and Israel deserves a friend that lives up to the name.

'A Friend That Lives Up To The Name': McConnell Urges Support For Israel Ahead Of Netanyahu's Speech

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