The advanced age of Joe Biden is on the ballot in November‚ when he will be almost 82 years old. You can view his physical stumbles‚ his angry tirades at the sky‚ his sentences that trail off into the void where they die a cold and lonely death‚ and rightly wonder what goes on behind closed doors in high-level discussions about the economy‚ Russia and China. You can watch his cringe-worthy live appearances that include shout-outs to dead people and hand-shakes with the thin air‚ and conclude‚ like 75 percent of Americans‚ that he is simply too old to be president. You can also view video of Biden from just a few years ago and note the rapidity of his decline. Which brings me to vice president Kamala Harris. Joe Biden is no Dwight Eisenhower. And for that matter‚ Kamala Harris is no Richard Nixon. Harris is not just a heartbeat away from the presidency; she is a slip and fall away from the presidency. The problem for the Democrats is that the lightweight Harris polls even lower than Biden‚ no small feat. What to do? The Washington Post has put forth a solution. In a recent article about the election of 1956‚ the Post noted many similarities to today. Dwight Eisenhower was then the second oldest man to run for president and he had a heart condition (Biden is now the oldest man to run for president). Richard Nixon was then Eisenhower’s unpopular vice-president. Likewise‚ Harris is now Biden’s unpopular vice-president. (READ MORE from Kevin Brady: College Presidents and the New Multi-Racial America) And yet Eisenhower won re-election. He went on to a successful second term without having to resort to his vice-president‚ who‚ in any event‚ was later twice elected on his own. Isn’t it obvious? Biden can win! Harris can wait! Yes we can!  Pondering this over‚ I retreated to my local watering hole and fell into a reverie over my favorite bar room conversation: Who was the greatest American president — and why? If you find yourself in this situation and the guy on the stool next to you names Jack Kennedy‚ which has often happened to me (a consequence of spending too much time in Irish bars)‚ read on. My own choice‚ which I reveal now publicly for the first time‚ is Dwight D. Eisenhower (‘Ike”). Hear me out. Conservative Governance Let’s start with Ike’s last public statement‚ his most famous‚ where he warned the country about the military-industrial complex: “Every gun that is made‚ every warship launched‚ every rocket fired signifies‚ in the final sense‚ a theft from those who hunger and are not fed‚ those who are cold and not clothed. This world in arms is not spending money alone. It is spending the sweat of its laborers‚ the genius of its scientists‚ the hopes of its children.” Not exactly what you would expect from a life-long soldier and the five-star general who planned Operation Torch in North Africa‚ the D-day invasion‚ and led the Allies to victory in Europe in World War II.  Ike’s parting comments on the military-industrial complex were far-sighted. He perceived the rise of unelected officials and lobbyists within the Washington beltway as a real threat to democracy. That threat lives on today in the deep state and has become‚ if anything‚ more dangerous. Ike saw it first and was not afraid to sound the alarm on behalf of the country. Ike’s rhetoric was entirely consistent with his record in office‚ where he reduced military spending from $ 515 billion in 1952 to $ 370 billion in 1960. How did he do it during the frozen depths of the Cold War? In 1953‚ his first year in office‚ Ike ended the Korean War and set the peace terms which have held to this day. Throughout his administration‚ he questioned military budgets and cut programs judiciously — as only an insider could. (He worked in Washington from 1932 to 1935 under Douglas MacArthur‚ who served as Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army at the time. Congressional budgets were Ike’s specialty.) (READ MORE: A Revisionist’s Korean War) Ike also had something to say about the technology-government complex that gave us the lockdown and  seven trillion dollars of runaway Covid 19 spending: “The prospect of domination of the nation’s scholars by Federal employment‚ project allocation‚ and the power of money is ever present and is gravely to be regarded. Yet in holding scientific discovery in respect‚ as we should‚ we must also be alert to the equal and opposite danger that public policy could itself become captive of a scientific-technology elite.” Ike took a dim view of government spending in general. He liked deficit spending even less. During his administration‚ he ran three budget surpluses and reduced federal spending from 20.4 percent of GNP to 18.4. This‚ in the teeth of a Democratic majority in Congress for six out of his eight years in office. While Ike was cutting useless spending out of the budget‚ he also increased Social Security payments and created the department of Health‚ Education and Welfare. He worked with Canada to construct the St. Lawrence Seaway‚ a development that ensured an efficient all-water transport from the Midwest to Europe‚ which vastly improved the viability of American grain exports. Oh‚ he also built the federal highway system‚ to date the largest most successful transportation project in U.S. history. He did not accomplish these fiscal feats by printing money or passing federal debt onto our children. He did it by cutting spending and keeping taxes high‚ which he felt was necessary to pay down the federal debt incurred during World War II. In the face of ruinous public debt‚ Ike chose the responsible‚ if unpopular‚ path. He nevertheless maintained an average approval rating of 64 percent over the course of his presidency.  On matters of social justice‚ Ike said very little. Privately‚ he did not support Brown v the Board of Education‚ which de-segregated the public schools‚ thinking it an overreach of federal power. However‚ after the decision‚ he said this: “The Supreme Court has spoken and I am sworn to uphold the constitutional processes in this country; and I will obey.” Ike was as good as his word. In 1957‚ the governor of Arkansas set up a ring of soldiers to prevent nine black students from entering Little Rock high school. Ike stood tall. He didn’t send down his Attorney General to argue with the governor. He didn’t send in the National Guard. He sent 1‚000 armed paratroopers from the 101st Airborne. The kids got in. (READ MORE: American Despotism: The Great Upheaval Over Race Begins) At this point‚ your Democratic bar mate who thought Kennedy was the greatest president might appear confused. “Wait. Didn’t Kennedy do that? Wasn’t Eisenhower a Republican? That can’t be true!” But it is. Ike’s Restraint Then there are the things Ike didn’t do. In 1954‚ the French were being wiped out by the Viet Minh at Dien Bien Phu. They pushed for an American rescue‚ which included the use of nuclear weapons. Fire-breathing Cold Warriors within his administration demanded the same. Ike assessed the situation on the ground with a military eye. He contributed some supplies but no soldiers‚ a decision that subsequent U.S. presidents might well have heeded.  After Egyptian president Nasser nationalized the Suez Canal in 1956‚ the British and French invaded to get it back. No colonialist‚ Ike took Nasser’s side against his former allies. The British and French were badly defeated in the field and eventually left with their tail between their legs — another lesson here for U.S. presidents who cannot resist flexing their muscles in the Middle East. Also in 1956‚ Soviet tanks rolled into Budapest. While sympathetic to the Hungarians‚ Ike did not make false promises to them. Surrounded by communist states‚ with no ports and a shared border with the Soviet Union‚ Ike‚ the logistics expert‚ knew the Hungarians never had a chance.  Ike did push back against communism‚ which remained a priority for his administration. He strongly supported the covert activities of Allen Dulles at CIA. But Ike also understood the Russians from his days as Supreme Allied Commander during World War II. He knew when and where to push. Because of his experience and his judgement‚ Ike became that rarity of all things — a commander-in-chief who is also a statesman. After a long career as an officer in the Army‚ president of Columbia University‚ Chairman of the Joint Chiefs and Supreme NATO Commander‚ Ike had plenty of executive experience. It showed. He filled his administration with CEOs from the private sector‚ who‚ like him‚ understood how to manage large complex organizations.   And then there is the character of the man himself. He once said: “Take the job seriously. Don’t take yourself seriously.” Coming from the man who green-lit D-day in bad weather‚ Ike knew whereof he spoke. Ike was born in 1890 in Texas. He liked golf‚ cards‚ and a few drinks with the boys. Not one for over-sharing‚ Ike kept a tight leash on his sometimes volatile emotions. In 1952‚ Ike attended the 82nd Airborne convention to honor the same paratroopers he ordered behind German lines at Utah Beach. The night before D-day‚ he met them face-to-face just before their planes took off. At the convention‚ former Sergeant Leonard Funk‚ the only living Medal of Honor holder of the 82nd Airborne‚ rose and said: “It was a terrible decision for a man to make. Ike not only made it‚ but had the courage to come personally to face the men he was sending to almost certain death.” Ike’s eyes welled and tears poured down his cheeks. He covered his face with a handkerchief for many minutes. After he recovered himself‚ he rose and spoke to the group about the meaning of their sacrifice: duty‚ honor‚ and country. When he finished‚ the paratroopers remained stone silent in their seats for 30 seconds— and then stood for an ovation. At this point‚ check in with your bar mate. Ask him if he still wants to talk about Kennedy‚ the junior Senator from Massachusetts and the youngest president ever elected. Kennedy was built for television. Ike was built on character‚ experience‚ and deep humanity — substance over form. But what about Washington and Lincoln? During their time‚ both men led a country that was a concept‚ but not a world power. Their decisions did not reverberate instantly across the globe. Ike’s did. Roosevelt shared the stage with Churchill‚ Stalin‚ Hitler‚ and Tojo. The war had not yet been won. The atomic bomb had not been dropped. Roosevelt was not granted the same degree of raw power given to Ike.  Ike served in a time of clear American supremacy with almost unlimited global dominance on a scale never experienced before in human history. And how did he handle all that power? With modesty. With restraint‚ circumscribed at all times by the U.S. Constitution. We shall not see his like again.  This much I know. Joe Biden is no Dwight Eisenhower. And for that matter‚ Kamala Harris is no Richard Nixon. The post Dwight D. Eisenhower Is My Favorite President appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.

In the wake of Hamas’ depraved attack on Israel‚ and Israel’s war to vanquish Hamas‚ the Biden administration and the EU remain obsessed with peddling the snake oil known as Palestinian statehood. According to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken‚ there needs to be a “pathway to a Palestinian state‚” without which Israel will not obtain either “genuine security” or Arab assistance in rebuilding Gaza. Meanwhile‚ EU’s foreign policy head Josep Borrell suggested that the international community could impose a Palestinian state without Israel’s consent. Israel should remain strong and continue to rebuff demands for a Palestinian state‚ which Palestinian leadership has rejected multiple times anyway. But analyzing statements from the Palestinian Authority (PA)‚ the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and Fatah (collectively‚ the “PA”) since November alone reveal that such a Palestinian state would likely support Hamas‚ support terrorism‚ and continue to spread libels and genocidal incitement against Israel and the Jews.  A Palestinian State Would Support Hamas Given recent statements from the PA‚ a Palestinian state would likely support Hamas. PA Prime Minister Muhammad Shtayyeh‚ long trumpeted by many as a “moderate‚” stated that “Hamas is a central component in the Palestinian political arena” and not a terrorist movement. PLO Executive Committee Secretary Hussein Al-Sheikh‚ citing PA President Mahmoud Abbas‚ also asserted that Hamas is not a terrorist movement‚ instead asserting that “[t]he real terror is the occupation [i.e.‚ Israel]. The real terror is the settlement enterprise.” Fatah Secretary Walid Zaher‚ who is Abbas’ representative in Denmark‚ remarked that Fatah did not condemn Hamas for the October 7 massacre‚ and that it “fought against the UN not to add Hamas to the terror list.” (READ MORE from Steve Postal: Muslim Women Visit Israel to Show Solidarity Against Hamas) Indeed‚ the PA has indicated that it is willing to work with Hamas and other terrorist groups in forming a unity government. Fatah Central Committee Secretary Jibril Rajoub stated that Fatah would not rule over Gaza “without national agreement that will include political Islam‚ whether it is our brothers in Hamas or our brothers in [Islamic] Jihad.” Rajoub repeated this call to unity three days later‚ stating that “on behalf of the Palestinian [PA] leadership … We say to our brothers in Hamas and the Islamic Jihad Movement — the ball is in your court.” A Palestinian State Would Support Terrorism Recent statements from the PA also indicate that a Palestinian state would support terrorism. Fatah Central Committee Secretary Rajoub remarked that Hamas’ October 7 massacre was a “battle of heroism and a war of defense.” PA Prime Minister Shtayyeh called “the struggle‚” i.e.‚ terrorism‚ against Israel “a right and a duty.” The PA has specifically endorsed future terrorism in Judea and Samaria‚ commonly known as the “West Bank.” Fatah Ramallah Branch Representative Na’im Morrar endorsed “armed struggle” against Israel. Fatah Central Committee Secretary Rajoub has promised that “the next and more violent explosion will be in the West Bank.” In particular‚ a future Palestinian state would have an obsession with martyrdom‚ given the continued glorifications of martyrdom by the PA-run press. Both the mother and aunt of terrorist Nimr Abu Mustafa‚ who was killed by the IDF after trying to plant explosives‚ praised his martyrdom on Official PA TV. The father and grandmother of child terrorist Yazan Akkoub‚ 14‚ praised their son/grandson dying as a “martyr” after he was killed trying to stab IDF soldiers‚ on Official PA TV. A father of Palestinian terrorist As’ad Abu Zahra‚ 33‚ praised his son’s death‚ after he attacked IDF soldiers‚ stating that if the IDF kills one Palestinian‚ “10 grow [in his place]‚” on Official PA TV. The father of terrorist Rami Al-Shoumali‚ 36‚ praised his son by saying that “[h]e asked for Martyrdom and achieved Martyrdom‚” also on Official PA TV. Another indication that a future Palestinian state would support terrorism is the PA’s reaction to the assassination of Hamas arch-terrorist Saleh al-Arouri. Following his assassination‚ Fatah’s Rajoub mourned him as “extraordinary national leader‚ who was always extraordinary in the way of his struggle [i.e.‚ terrorism].” Rajoub also stated‚ “I am among the believers in his ideology‚ his way‚ and his activity‚” and that “His passing [is] a loss for Fatah just as it is a loss for Hamas.” The official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida posted a cartoon of al-Arouri‚ “with the word ‘Martyr’ written on his shoulder boards signifying his ‘rank‚’ and text reading “[o]ur blood and souls are not dearer or more honorable than of any Martyr.” Fatah Revolutionary Council member Jamal Hweil mourned al-Arouri as a “beloved friend” and “extraordinary heroic leader‚” and stated that “[t]here is no solution or path to freedom other than the path of Saleh Al-Arouri.” A Palestinian State Would Fuel Libels Against Israel and Jews A future Palestinian state would fuel vicious blood libels against Israel and the Jews‚ as the PA continues to do. According to the Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida‚ the “racist” Talmud permits Jews to “cut … open the stomachs of pregnant women to kill the fetuses‚ and also [to] annihilate[e] the members of the Palestinian people to the last of them” The same official PA daily also claimed that Israel is deliberately spreading disease and epidemics to kill as many civilians in Gaza as possible. Official PA TV also claimed that Israel harvested organs from dead Gazans. (READ MORE: NGO Brings American Imams to Israel for Interfaith Dialogue) Other libels from the PA against Israel center around Hamas’ October 7 attack. The PA alternatively asserts that Israel lied about the October 7 attack (as claimed by PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas’ Advisor on Religious Affairs and Islamic Relations Mahmoud Al-Habbash)‚ that Israel used the October 7 attack to execute a pre-planned war to expel Palestinians from their homes (also argued by Al-Habbash)‚ and that Israel killed its own civilians on October 7‚ burned the bodies‚ and then blamed Hamas (as stated by Director of PLO Commission of Prisoners’ Affairs with the rank of minister Qadura Fares). A Palestinian State Would Support the Genocide of the Jews  And last but certainly not least‚ a Palestinian state would support the genocide of the Jewish People‚ as the PA continues to do. Secretary of Fatah and the PLO Factions in Beirut Samir Abu Afash advocated for a Palestinian “right of return‚” while Jews will “return to the lands from which they came and whose citizenship they carry.” Fatah Secretary in Austria Mundhir Mar’i called on Palestinians living in Europe to “fight to uproot you [i.e.‚ the Jews] from our [i.e.‚ the Palestinians’] land‚ expel you‚ and remove you‚ Allah willing.” While calling for a Palestinian state‚ the Biden administration and the EU are advocating for no less than endless war and the destruction of Israel. Israel should remain strong and continue to rebuff demands for a Palestinian state‚ which Palestinian leadership has rejected multiple times anyway. Only by destroying Hamas and significantly reforming the PA can Israel truly achieve peace. The post Israel Should Reject the Palestinian State Snake Oil appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.

If you are a novelist‚ you may abandon inconvenient reality for richly imagined fiction. Consider Evelyn Waugh‚ who converted to Roman Catholicism in 1930. Rather than embrace the low-born majority of his new fellow congregants‚ he wove the richly tragic Flyte family and their Brideshead Castle out of the thin threads of the surviving Catholic aristocracy in England. It must have been a great comfort to Waugh to spend his spiritual life among his creations rather than what Anthony Burgess called  “Maynooth priests with brogues.” The neocons are simply the first DC denizens to suffer delamination from their political base. But they won’t be the last. Unfortunately‚ political hacks cannot conjure up their preferred adherents with the ease of a great writer. When Donald Trump won the 2016 election and delivered to the Republicans the working class in the industrial heartlands‚ the response of the Republican brain trust in DC was abject panic. Rather than celebrate the fact that the GOP had seized the traditional core constituency of the Democratic Party‚ self-anointed party intellectuals like Bill Kristol and Max Boot‚ along with the entire staff of National Review recoiled in horror at the boorishness of the new champion of rust belt voters. (READ MORE: The Madness of the Never-Trumpers) These pundits were the lineal descendants of Irving Kristol and Norman Podhoretz‚ who’d devoted their careers to “rescuing” conservatism from the know-nothing businessmen who dominated the traditional Republican party.  Like Greeks tutoring the Romans‚ these highly educated refugees from the New Left inculcated a conservatism traditionally suspicious of foreign entanglements with a new taste for global engagement‚ military intervention‚ and a belief that American hegemony was worth paying a dear price for.  They swooned over American military adventures in the 1980’s and 90’s‚ which appeared to eclipse the tragedy of Vietnam and placed the U.S. on the side of the angels fighting such monsters as Bernard Coard‚ Saddam Hussein‚ and Slobodan Milosovic. Unfortunately‚ as good anti-Marxists would‚ they also ignored the economic underpinnings of this new hyper-global American power. Rather than consider the dire economic impact of cheap Chinese labor on the American industrial workforce‚ they cited comparative advantage theory and a historical linkage between economic development and political liberalization. Opening U.S. markets would engender democracy and stability because wealthier citizens demand political rights‚ as had happened in 19th century Britain. This argument may have appeared plausible in 1983‚ but by the election of 2016 it was obvious that free trade with the U.S. had not spurred political reform in China. What it had done is wreck the career trajectories of the working class in the American industrial heartland‚ which then voted decisively for Trump. The decades of intellectual labor devoted to the transformation of the Republican Party into something one could claim open allegiance to at the Sidwell Friends PTA turned to dust in the hands of the neoconservatives. Their fondest dream‚ that the tax-paying Babbits of middle America would be led by conservative elites as brilliant and charming as any Democrat simply collapsed‚ trampled by an electoral stampede of Walmart shoppers. Rather than continue the hard polemical graft of their predecessors‚ and attempt to tutor these recent arrivals on GOP shores in the ways of Washington and the importance of American leadership‚ the likes of Kristol and Boot indulged in an epic hissy fit that rendered their criticisms of the Trump Administration indistinguishable from a Rachel Maddow opening monologue. They were now stuck in a party with the American equivalent of the Irish laborers and Maynooth priests disdained by Evelyn Waugh but unlike him‚ they couldn’t simply invent an alternative. More distressing was the fact that these new Republicans considered them functionally indistinguishable from the Democrats. Viewed from say a union hall in Dubuque Iowa‚ the neocons were part of the Beltway cabal that protected bankers who blew holes in the national economy‚ shipped our industrial base overseas‚ wasted the lives of American soldiers‚ and couldn’t balance the federal budget even during economic booms. It was always going to be a tough sell explaining to middle Americans the complexities of free trade when they spent their days among abandoned factories that had within living memory generated middle class prosperity. (READ MORE: Neither Trump Nor Never Trumpers) Compounding this alienation from the new GOP base was the emergence of a Washington uniparty on a range of divisive social issues. The neocons largely if often quietly side with their Democratic Party colleagues inside the Beltway on abortion rights‚ transsexualism‚ and a generally dubious view of evangelical Christianity. It always comes as a shock to Washington boffins like Thomas Frank that the working class in Kansas can be just as devoted to social issues as any wealthy yoga mom. From their point of view‚ Washington doesn’t share their values on important social policies‚ and so why should they defer to these elites and their economic proposals? But rather than try to argue their corner‚ the heartbroken neocon project decided to rain insults down on Trump and his supporters. There was a clear element of class anxiety at work here. Late comers to social success are always the most insecure about retaining it‚ and the neoconservatives were the latest to scale the DC socio-political hierarchy. Not with complete success: the neocons were always more likely to be found at a Reston cocktail party huddled with a retired two-star general than at a Georgetown soiree hosted by Evangeline Bruce. The election of Trump exposed the neocons as what Texans call “all hat and no cattle‚” with no genuine political constituency remaining behind their clever policy prescriptions. This is social death in DC‚ which runs on finely graded calculations of power. The neocons were now political orphans of no consequence‚ and they hated the party that declined to further their careers and influence. There is nothing more toxic among ambitious Americans than thwarted social aspiration. The demise of the Brideshead Republicans should serve as a warning to Washington in general. The strength of a populist moment is a function of how badly governing elites have screwed up. In this case‚ the neocons lost their party after embroiling the country in ill-fated wars‚ neglecting the sources of national prosperity other than fat government consulting contracts‚ and generally conveying a sense that Americans in flyover country don’t matter on questions of high policy. It’s probably safe to say that a blue blood like Franklin Roosevelt would not have welcomed his average supporter through the front door of Hyde Park. Yet he knew that his policies were only as good as his ability to persuade those average Americans of their value‚ and that required him to display a performative affinity for these people. Which he did. Washington has lost this skill and indeed much of its respect for those average Americans. While this disdain for the deplorables may be popular social currency in Washington‚ it is not a sturdy basis for any political program. The neocons are simply the first DC denizens to suffer delamination from their political base. But they won’t be the last. The Left’s flirtation with unchecked migration‚ outré sexual identity politics‚ and admiration for the atrocities committed by Hamas threatens a similar delamination from the Democratic base‚ specifically black and Hispanic voters‚ who tend conservative on a range of social issues. Future left populism could pose as serious a challenge to the authority of DC elites as Trump’s right populism did. (READ MORE: Never Trumpers: The Real Putin Republicans) Populism is what you get when “ideology-forward” elites in Washington prefer a fictional Brideshead to their actual countrymen out there far beyond Montgomery County‚ with all their deplorable opinions‚ lack of polish and appalling consumer preferences. Yet it is exactly those actual countrymen who suffer the actual consequences of bad policies conceived far away in Brideshead Castle‚ for the benefit of gracious‚ grateful Americans who don’t actually exist. Karl Pfefferkorn served as Director‚ European Security Negotiations‚ Office of the Secretary of Defense (1990-93) as well as on US delegations to the CFE negotiations‚ the OSCE‚ and Incidents at Sea.  After a second career in business‚ he now teaches a course on the European Union in the Politics Department at the University of Virginia. He lives near Free Union‚ Virginia. The post The Heartbreak of the Brideshead Republicans appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.

Cooking in batches can help prepare future meals quickly but if your menu calls for spicy foods you need to take care to clean your pan between dishes.

from Arcadia Economics:  TRUTH LIVES on at https://sgtreport.tv/

by Stefan Stanford‚ All News Pipeline: While you may have never heard the heartbreaking story of 39-year old Sarah Healey‚ I’ve got to share it with you briefly now as the introduction to this story. While giving the eulogy for her 81-year-old father-in-law just days ago‚ in front of her three children‚ aged 16‚ 7 and 6‚ […]

After news broke of the drone attack on a U.S. military base in Jordan near the Syrian border‚ several congressional Republicans clamored for war with Iran. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) begged the Biden administration to strike targets inside Iran. “The Biden Administration can take out all the Iranian proxies they like‚ but it will not deter Iranian aggression. I am calling on the Biden Administration to strike targets of significance inside Iran‚ not only as reprisal for the killing of our forces‚ but as deterrence against future aggression‚” Graham said. “The only thing the Iranian regime understands is force. Until they pay a price with their infrastructure and their personnel‚ the attacks on U.S. troops will continue‚” he added. The only thing the Iranian regime understands is force. Until they pay a price with their infrastructure and their personnel‚ the attacks on U.S. troops will continue. — Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) January 28‚ 2024 “Hit Iran now. Hit them hard‚” Graham ended his long-winded‚ hawkish tirade. Hit Iran now. Hit them hard. — Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) January 28‚ 2024 Graham faced severe criticism for his remarks: Lindsey loves to send your kids to die‚ anytime‚ anywhere. https://t.co/qeNkAVgX5P — Catturd (@catturd2) January 28‚ 2024 The war machine votes to leave our troops in the middle east as bait‚ funds our enemies until they kill Americans‚ then uses the dead troops as a justification for a new war. This scam only benefits Iran &; the defense contractors who own too many members of our government. https://t.co/1QFQXWXdoO — Joe Kent for WA-3 (@joekent16jan19) January 28‚ 2024 I hope you’ll be the first one on the frontlines fighting devil. https://t.co/eMWmLKUrrR — Morgan Ariel (@itsmorganariel) January 28‚ 2024 Graham wasn’t the lone Republican senator begging for war against Iran. “Target Tehran‚” said Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX). Target Tehran https://t.co/KLzQC9zRC0 — Senator John Cornyn (@JohnCornyn) January 28‚ 2024 “The only answer to these attacks must be a 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‚” said Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR). My statement following the Iran-backed attacks in Jordan that killed three U.S. service members and injured 25: pic.twitter.com/L8ckks5ch4 — Tom Cotton (@SenTomCotton) January 28‚ 2024 GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley didn’t sound any better than the hawkish lawmakers. She said Biden “should retaliate with the full force of American strength.” “As a military spouse‚ my heart breaks for the families who lost loved ones. This shows the barbaric nature of our enemies in Iran. And it shows that they would not be attacking our troops if Joe Biden weren’t so weak in his treatment of Iran. We should retaliate with the full force of American strength. It’s the only way to prevent further war. If we do not‚ these attacks will only continue‚” Haley said. As a military spouse‚ my heart breaks for the families who lost loved ones. This shows the barbaric nature of our enemies in Iran. And it shows that they would not be attacking our troops if Joe Biden weren't so weak in his treatment of Iran. We should retaliate with the full… — Nikki Haley (@NikkiHaley) January 28‚ 2024 Haley faced harsh criticism for the saber-rattling rhetoric. Nikki Haley is now calling for full war with Iran This isn't vague She is the WW3 candidate‚ she stating it openly https://t.co/nsfLqdvCLj — Jack Poso (@JackPosobiec) January 29‚ 2024 AND…..there ya have it. Nikki wants a war. https://t.co/wfsgYVoLbY — John Rich (@johnrich) January 28‚ 2024 A vote for Deep State war pig Nikki Haley‚ is a vote for WW3 and the military industrial complex. Our troops belong home defending our own border. https://t.co/EcF8qhljxX — Mindy Robinson (@iheartmindy) January 28‚ 2024 Per Axios: “The head of the snake is Iran‚” Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.)‚ a senior member of the House Armed Services Committee and former Air Force brigadier general‚ told Axios. Bacon noted that the administration “keeps conducting strikes on the proxy forces that are armed and often directed by Iran‚” but “Iran could care a less if we attack the proxy forces.” “We should find smart Iranian targets that are low risk of our aircraft getting shot down and teach Iran a lesson‚” he said. Biden would likely face an outcry from many members of his own party if he retaliated to the degree some Republicans are advocating for. Lawmakers across the political spectrum‚ and progressives in particular‚ have been increasingly critical of the administration’s broad interpretation of executive war powers in recent weeks. “There is no ‘Iran is bad’ exception to the Constitution. If we’re going to war‚ Congress must declare it‚” Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) commented. There is no “Iran is bad” exception to the Constitution. If we’re going to war‚ Congress must declare it. pic.twitter.com/9iSlJVPwmc — Mike Lee (@BasedMikeLee) January 28‚ 2024 Zero Hedge noted: Of course‚ the neocons have had their sites set on Tehran and hoped-for regime change there going all the way back to the 1990’s‚ as is evident from the writings of PNAC crowd (Project for the New American Century‚ which went on to largely staff GW Bush’s cabinet). Thankfully‚ Trump’s initial statement did not echo the hawkish neocon line of some among the more outspoken GOP Congressmen… But the reality is that the years-long US occupation of Syria‚ which happens to largely located in the oil and gas producing parts of the country‚ have left US forces as ‘sitting ducks’ yet without any clear identifiable mission or goal. The Biden administration knows this very well‚ having been quoted as saying the same merely a week ago in The New York Times. Statement from President Trump 1/3 pic.twitter.com/tWGEHU3aYi — Karoline Leavitt (@kleavittnh) January 28‚ 2024 Read President Trump’s full statement on the drone attack below: The drone attack on a U.S. Military Installation in Jordan‚ killing 3 American Servicemembers‚ and wounding many more‚ marks a horrible day for America. My most profound sympathies go to the Families of the Brave Servicemembers we have lost. I ask all Americans to join me in praying for those who have been wounded. This brazen attack on the United States is yet another horrific and tragic consequence of Joe Biden’s weakness and surrender. Three years ago‚ Iran was weak‚ broke‚ and totally under control. Thanks to my Maximum Pressure policy‚ the Iranian Regime could barely scrape two dollars together to fund their terrorist proxies. Then Joe Biden came in and gave Iran billions of dollars‚ which the Regime has used to spread bloodshed and carnage throughout the Middle East. This attack would NEVER have happened if I was President‚ not even a chance – Just like the Iranian-backed Hamas attack on Israel would never have happened‚ the War in Ukraine would never have happened‚ and we would right now have Peace throughout the World. Instead‚ we are on the brink of World War 3. This terrible day is yet more proof that we need an immediate return to PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH‚ so that there will be no more chaos‚ no more destruction‚ and no more loss of precious American lives. Our Country cannot survive with Joe Biden as Commander in Chief.