US elected officials, as well as national security and military experts have signed a letter calling for America to stand with Israel as it works to eradicate Hamas.
“We are all individuals who devoted significant portions of our lives to the national security of the United States. Some of us served in senior positions in the US military, some of us in policy departments and agencies, and some of us in the intelligence community. Some of us were political appointees, and some of us were career officials. Many of us worked for presidents of both political parties,” the signatories wrote.
They added that they all believe “that Israel’s victory in its war to eradicate Hamas and other terrorist proxies of the Islamic Republic of Iran is critical for Middle East peace and stability”, adding that “the success of Israel’s efforts is vital to the interests of the United States and all other countries that cherish life and liberty.”
“On October 7, 2023, Hamas and its Gazan camp followers broke a long-standing ceasefire to engage in mass kidnapping, rape, murder, and unspeakably depraved torture in southern Israel. Since that date, Hamas has continued its genocidal mission of eradicating the Jewish state by firing thousands of rockets into Israel, directly threatening millions of civilians. Hamas, like ISIS before it, worships the most barbaric forms of violence, rooted in a perverse Islamist ideology,” the letter says.
The letter notes Hamas’ continued usage of Gazans as human shields and as propaganda swords. “Notwithstanding Hamas’s depravity and the direct complicity of many Gazans in the atrocities of October 7, the Israel Defense Forces comply with the rules of war, the Geneva Convention, and otherwise, taking extraordinary measures to mitigate harm to civilians,” it adds.
“With the aim of freeing scores of hostages, including American citizens, and eliminating Hamas, the IDF are neutralizing terrorists and systematically destroying Hamas’s multibillion-dollar military infrastructure, including tunnels, weapons factories, training facilities, and command centers, much of it hidden within civilian areas, the letter continues.
It also notes that Hamas used humanitarian aid from Western governments, including the United States, to subsidize the construction of terrorist infrastructure, and that it uses international aid to support its military operations.
“Accordingly,” the letter continues, “we believe that the United States Government must provide the IDF the time, resources, and diplomatic support necessary to utterly defeat Hamas – dismantle its operational capability, eliminate its leadership, and discredit its ideology. This is in the national security interest of the United States.”
The writers say they “Commend the Congress for supporting the people of Israel, the IDF, and the Government of Israel, and for ensuring that the IDF has the munitions and armaments they need to defeat Hamas and other malign regional actors. Such assistance is in America’s national interest, and it must continue.”
They also said they “Support Israel’s military goal that the war will end only when Hamas no longer maintains the capacity to murder. We urge US policymakers to reject, in absolute terms, any prolonged ceasefire without the unconditional surrender of Hamas and release of every hostage held by Hamas.” “And we strongly encourage the President and other senior government officials to speak out with absolute moral clarity – Israel’s war is just.”
They urged President Biden, in his role as the Commander in Chief, “to immediately restore global deterrence against Iran, which directly threatens America and Israel alike. Similarly, we urge President Biden and his administration to refrain from imposing strategically damaging constraints on Israel’s defensive military and security activities or imposing post conflict conditions.”
Signatories to the letter include Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX), Congressman Michael Waltz (R-FL), Congressman Brian Mast (R-FL), former Secretary of Veterans Affairs and former Under Secretary of Defense Robert Wilkie, former United States Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell, former United States Ambassador to Israel David M. Friedman, Congressman Allen B. West (R-GA), Congressman Lee Zeldin (R-NY), former Acting Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security Ezra Cohen, former Deputy National Security Advisor for the Middle East and North African Affairs Victoria Coates, former Special Envoy for the Abraham Accords and former Senior Advisor to the United States Ambassador to Israel Aryeh Lightstone, and Mark Dubowitz, who has served as an advisor to the last four Presidential Administrations, the including Biden Administration.