Senator Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) gave Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin an earful during a Wednesday hearing, demanding that he answer for reports that the United States had withheld ammunition that was supposed to be sent to Israel.
The shipment was reportedly delayed as U.S. officials — among them President Joe Biden — expressed concern over Israel’s decision to strike Rafah in an effort to root out the last remaining stronghold of the Hamas terror network. Graham pressed Austin — and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Charles Q. Brown Jr. — to answer for that, drawing a comparison to the atomic bombs that ultimately brought about the end of World War II.
WATCH:
WATCH
I may not agree with everything Senator Lindsey Graham does, but it's clear he's got Israel’s back, pretty powerful. SecDef Austin, on the other hand, seems like his hands are tied. pic.twitter.com/h3iqDQkWeT
— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) May 8, 2024
“Would you have supported dropping the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki? General Brown, to end World War II?” Graham asked.
“Well, Senator, I think it is based on the situation —” Brown replied.
“Well, we know I mean, it happened, we know. I’m not asking, they did it. Do you think that was disproportionate?” Graham tried again. “Do you, in hindsight, do you think that was the right decision for America to drop two atomic bombs on the Japanese cities in question?”
“Well, I’ll tell you, it stopped the world war,” Brown said.
“Okay. Well, so. Do you agree, General Austin? If you’d been around, would you say, drop them?” Graham continued.
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“I agree with the Chairman here,” Austin said.
“I mean, if you were, if we go back in time says, hey, we got two atomic bombs, should we drop them? What would you say?” Graham clarified his question.
“Well, you know, I think the leadership was interested in curtailing —” Austin tried to explain further, but Graham pressed on.
“What’s Israel interested in? Do you believe Iran really wants to kill all the Jews if they could? The Iranian regime. Do you believe Hamas is serious when they say we’ll keep doing it over and over again? Do you agree that they will if they can?” the South Carolina senator asked.
Austin’s reply was simple: “I do.”
“Okay. Alright. Do you believe that Hezbollah is a terrorist organization also bent on the destruction of the Jewish state?” Graham asked.
“Hezbollah is a terrorist organization,” Austin agreed.
“Okay, so Israel’s been hit in the last few weeks by Iran, Hezbollah, and Hamas dedicated to their destruction. And you’re telling me you’re going to tell them how to fight the war?” Graham asked in apparent disbelief. “And what they can and can’t use when everybody around them wants to kill all the Jews. And you’re telling me that if we withhold weapons in this fight — the existential fight for the life of the Jewish state — it won’t send the wrong signal? … If we stop weapons necessary to destroy the enemies of the State of Israel at a time of great peril, we will pay a price. This is obscene. It is absurd. Give Israel what they need to fight the war. They can’t afford to lose. This is Hiroshima and Nagasaki on steroids.”