Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) made an alarming recommendation Wednesday on Fox News Channel’s “Hannity.” The Republican urged President Joe Biden to launch direct military strikes on Iran after three U.S. reservists were killed in a drone attack in Jordan.
He asserted that instilling fear of American military might in the Islamic Republic would act as a deterrent for future strikes. The most recent attack is believed to have been carried out by forces supported by Tehran.
The South Carolina Republican asked why such actions as that in Jordan did not occur under former President Donald Trump.
Answering his own question, Graham concluded, “The Iranians were afraid of Donald Trump. We killed the head of their Revolutionary Guard, Soleimani. Biden has yet to hit Iran directly.”
The senator expressed his belief that Tehran does not care how many Houthis perish or how many Iraqi militia are hit by U.S. strikes. “The only way you change their behavior and stop killing Americans and attacking our troops and trying to bomb ships in the Red Sea” is through force.
Graham declared the U.S. must launch against their oil infrastructure and their money supply. Iran must, he said, “fear you.”
And here we have it…
War with Iran.
Warmonger Lindsey Graham will never find a War he doesn’t like and that he doesn’t profit from. pic.twitter.com/bN2jQKmOjm
— Liz Churchill (@liz_churchill10) January 28, 2024
He added, “So, Mr. President, hit Iran, hit them now and hit them hard to protect Americans in harm’s way.”
Graham stopped short of calling for an invasion of the Persian nation, which would be an overt declaration of war. Direct strikes against Iranian assets, however, would likely produce the same result.
The South Carolina Republican was not alone in his call for a dramatic escalation in the Middle East.
Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS) is the senior GOP member of the Senate Armed Services Committee. He called for direct strikes “against Iranian targets and its leadership…The Biden administration’s responses thus far have only invited more attacks.”
As for the president, he made what appeared to be a pledge to retaliate for the killing of three Americans and the injuring of dozens of others.
In a statement, the Democrat declared that “we will hold all those responsible to account at a time and in a manner of our own choosing.”
