U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs

05/13/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 05/13/2024 11:52

ICYMI Chairman McCaul on ABC’s “This Week”

Media Contact 202-226-8467

Washington, D.C. - Yesterday, House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul joined Martha Raddatz on ABC's "This Week" to discuss the Biden administration's threat to withhold weapons from our friend and ally, Israel.

WATCH HERE.

- Highlights from the interview -

On The Biden administration's threat of an arms embargo on Israel:
"Now, of course, you want the conditions with humanitarian [assistance] to be in place. Of course, you want the tents in place. But to say that you cannot [go in to] Rafah, we're telling the Israelis, dictating their military strategy. This is the last point, the last step in the completion of their military objective, and for us to step in and say, 'No, you can't go into Rafah and finish the job,' I think, is tantamount to an arms embargo. It's also very similar for us to say, in World War II, like my dad's generation, 'Hey, you can invade all the way up to Berlin, but you can't go into Berlin to finish the job.'"

On the importance of supporting our allies:
"You know where it matters, Martha, is the signal and the message we're sending the rest of the world: that you can't count on the United States, you can't trust the United States. [They] are our allies, and our enemies see this as well."

On the consequences of abandoning Israel:
"So, if our allies and friends see this as trust issues, if the Saudis say part of this peace deal, they want to buy military equipment from the United States, how are they going to trust us? And the rest of the world looks at this. Iran looks at this. Yahya Sinwar got a victory [from] this administration without a shot fired at him. And I think Russia and China are right here looking at this too."

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