President Joe Biden needs to be more clear about what he means when he says Israel's response to Iran needs to be proportional, considering the scale of the aggressions that have been waged in recent months, Rep. Andy Biggs told Newsmax.
"The first question I had was when I heard President Biden say that the response should be proportional, was proportional to what?" the Arizona Republican commented on "National Report" Thursday.
"[Does he mean] the 181 ballistic missiles that came in and the terrorist attacks that were coordinated with that?" said Biggs. "Or do you mean the regime that is seeking the utter destruction and annihilation of Israel, that has said categorically that it wants to remove it from the planet? So it's which one did you mean?"
Israel, he added, should be able to defend itself, and therefore needs to determine what is necessary.
"They have the intelligence," said Biggs. "They know what's going on. And quite frankly, if we're going to say we're going to help you out, but only with strings, then there's no wonder that they've been slow."
Iran, he added, is not only attacking Israel but has funded the Houthi rebels in Yemen and Hezbollah in Lebanon, and has proxies throughout the world "that they're funding to bring terror everywhere."
"If you say that it has to be proportional, which I don't think that we're in a position to make that adjudication, then you need to get the strings off Israel and let Israel defend itself, and this thing will be solved probably sooner rather than later that way," he said.
Rep. Jonathan Jackson, D-Ill., also on Wednesday's program, argued that the United States must stand by its "unequivocal support" for Israel, but said that does not mean it should "blindly" follow Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
"I think that we should also be on the path towards reconciliation, [but] the path towards peace has not been articulated by Mr. Netanyahu," said Jackson. "To say that Israel is Netanyahu and Netanyahu is Israel, I think is blurring the lines. I think that as we talk about going into Iran, what is proportional? These things have to be laid out, articulated, and made clear."
Jackson further said he does not think Israel should take its fight back to Iran.
"They have the Iron Dome," he said of Israel. "They have the United States defense mechanism.
"Let's now expand our peace coalition. Let's ask Saudi Arabia. Let's ask the Emiratis, let's ask the Qataris, the United States to use its exceptionalism at this point, to bring everyone back to a peace table."
Meanwhile, Biggs said he thinks the Israel situation is important, but he also thinks voters care more about issues closer to home.
"The voters in Arizona are much more concerned with border security or the lack thereof," he said. "They're concerned about inflation, the price costs, and what's happened under the Biden-Harris regime … they are concerned about this country, the country in which they live, and they are concerned about our friends in Israel. But they want to make sure that we also are taken care of."
About NEWSMAX TV:
NEWSMAX is the fastest-growing cable news channel in America!
- Find Newsmax channel in your home via cable and satellite systems – More Info Here
- Watch Newsmax+ on your home TV app or smartphone and watch it anywhere! Try it for FREE -- See More Here: NewsmaxPlus.com