Senator Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas) today joined Saturday in America on Fox News with Bret Baier to discuss the strikes on Iran.
In part, Senator Cotton said:
“I commend President Trump for making the difficult but absolutely necessary decision to join our partners in Israel to eliminate once and for all the threat that Iran’s outlaw regime has posed to the United States for 47 years. Iran has been waging a campaign of terror against the United States and our friends since they took over the country in 1979. It started with holding American citizens hostage for more than a year in our embassy, blowing up the Marine barracks in Beirut in 1983, blowing up Khobar Towers barracks in Saudi Arabia, killing and maiming thousands of troops in Iraq and Afghanistan with deadly roadside bombs. We cannot allow such a regime to have a nuclear weapon. We cannot allow them to have thousands of missiles that can hit all of our bases, not just in the Middle East, but in Europe, and also one day hit us here in the United States. So, this is an absolutely necessary operation. I commend President Trump, and I join all Arkansans and all Americans in praying for the safety and the success of our troops in their mission.”
Senator Cotton’s full interview may be found here and below.
Bret Baier: Joining me now, Senator Tom Cotton, Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman. Senator, thanks for the time. First, your overall thoughts about this action today and where things stand at this hour.
Senator Cotton: Well, Brett, I commend President Trump for making the difficult but absolutely necessary decision to join our partners in Israel to eliminate once and for all the threat that Iran’s outlaw regime has posed to the United States for 47 years. Iran has been waging a campaign of terror against the United States and our friends since they took over the country in 1979. It started with holding American citizens hostage for more than a year in our embassy, blowing up the Marine barracks in Beirut in 1983, blowing up Khobar Towers barracks in Saudi Arabia, killing and maiming thousands of troops in Iraq and Afghanistan with deadly roadside bombs. We cannot allow such a regime to have a nuclear weapon. We cannot allow them to have thousands of missiles that can hit all of our bases, not just in the Middle East, but in Europe, and also one day hit us here in the United States. So, this is an absolutely necessary operation. I commend President Trump, and I join all Arkansans and all Americans in praying for the safety and the success of our troops in their mission.
Bret Baier: President Trump had a phone call with the Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu and the Israelis just put out that that information and you would expect that communication to be free flowing. The Israeli senator said there were three sites where gatherings of senior Iranian officials were taking place and they were struck simultaneously this morning. According to the Israelis, several senior figures essential to the management of the campaign and the regime’s governance were eliminated. Do you know anything more about that or the trigger that perhaps made the daylight raid happen?
Senator Cotton: Brett, not that I can share. I can say obviously the president and his team will coordinate closely with Prime Minister Netanyahu and his team and for that matter our Arab partners. You know there were reports that our Arab friends were not going allow us to use their airspace, their bases. You’ve seen the statement this morning from Saudi Arabia which was strongly supportive of this operation. Remember Iran has terrorized our Arab friends in the region as well. So this is going to be a multifaceted campaign to suppress Iran’s air defenses, to destroy their missiles, to destroy their missile manufacturing capability so we don’t face such a dangerous imbalance of power in the future between their missiles on the one hand and our missile defenses on the other hand, and to target the sources of regime strength, the revolutionary guard corps, the Quds force, which are the shock troops of regime power, as President Trump said to make sure that they’re not massacring their own people again if their people rise up in the wake of these strikes.
Bret Baier: Do you think Congress was appropriately kept in the loop on all of this? There was the gang of eight briefing by Secretary Rubio and CIA director John Radcliffe. Senator Schumer has said that there needs to be more bringing Congress into the loop of what is happening and what the objective is at the endgame here. What are your thoughts?
Senator Cotton: Absolutely, Bret. As you said, there was a briefing for the Gang of Eight which are the heads of the intelligence committees and the heads of the House and the Senate that happened Tuesday afternoon. I was a part of it with Director Ratcliffe and Secretary Rubio. They briefed us fully. Yesterday, we were notified. Secretary Rubio called me. As it happens, Pete Hegseth was in Arkansas as well on his Arsenal of Freedom Tour, so I had a chance to speak with him. I had a brief chance to speak with the president on Tuesday night before his State of the Union speech. So, I think the administration more than fulfilled its responsibilities to brief the senior leaders of Congress and then notify us shortly in advance. I suspect when we’re back in Washington DC next week, there’ll be additional briefings and explanations, but the objective here is fairly clear. It’s to once again put an end to Iran’s nuclear ambitions and especially to destroy their ballistic missiles. They have thousands of missiles that can range all of our bases and all of our friends in the Middle East and they hope to range the United States one day much more than we have in missile defenses. And it’s a lot easier kill the archer on the ground before he puts the arrow in the sky.
Bret Baier: Yeah. Last thing quickly though, there is a sense about regime change and some words to that effect from President Trump at the end of his statement this morning. For the people out there who are worried about a vacuum that may be created here, what do you tell them that you know what’s next? Do we know?
Senator Cotton: Well, the president has been clear now for months that as he put it, the best thing that could happen for the United States, for our friends, and for that matter the people of Iran is to have a different regime as opposed to theocratic revolutionary dictators who have spread chaos, mayhem, and terror, not just in Iran, but radiating across the world for 47 years. I can’t predict that’ll happen. At the moment, we’re focused on the threat to the United States, their missile program, and their nuclear program, but as the president said, that’s the best thing that could happen for the civilized world and for the people of Iran.
Bret Baier: Senator Tom Cotton, thank you for the time.
Leave a Reply