In 1988, the American frigate USS Samuel B. Roberts struck an Iranian mine in international waters. The explosion severely damaged the boat and injured several Americans. Thankfully, no one was killed — but wisely, President Reagan didn’t wait for tragedy to occur before acting. Just four days later, the United States launched Operation Praying Mantis. Our Navy destroyed two Iranian oil platforms, three warships, two fighter jets, and multiple other vessels.
President Reagan’s message was clear: if you put American lives in danger, you will be destroyed. In response to Operation Praying Mantis, there was no escalation. The conflict did not spiral into an uncontained war, and deterrence was restored.
Compare that powerful and effective example of deterrence to where we are today. Another Iran-backed group, Hamas, attacked our ally Israel on October 7th. After the attack, President Biden promised that the United States would stand with Israel. He promised he would not tell Israel how to conduct its war against this terror, and that Israel could make its own decisions as a sovereign nation.
But since October 7th, the Biden administration has all but folded to the demands of those in his party who want to condition aid and support to our ally. And after October 7th, the president didn’t only fail Israel — he failed America’s military.
In the four months after October 7th, Iran-backed militias attacked U.S. troops not once, not twice — but more than 150 times. President Biden allowed not days, not weeks, but months of unanswered attacked by Iran-backed Houthis on U.S. ships and civilian cargo vessels in the Red Sea.
What was the inevitable result of the president’s hesitation? The tragic deaths of three American troops at the hands of an Iran-backed militia, with dozens more seriously injured in the same drone attack. And just days earlier, two Navy SEALS gave their lives trying to stop Iran from supplying weapons to militia groups just like the one responsible for the drone attack. Those deaths add to a tally of at least 31 Americans killed in Israel on October 7th, not to mention the Americans still being held hostage in Gaza.
The Biden administration repeatedly says that it doesn’t want to escalate the situation in the Middle East. The administration has said it wants to avoid escalation so much that it’s beginning to seem like President Biden is more afraid of being blamed for escalation than he’s afraid of Americans being killed. But we should be clear: In the months following October 7th, President Biden failed to deter Iran’s support for terror, and he failed to deter attacks by the groups Iran supports. Ultimately, the only attacks President Biden deterred were our own.
Nearly a week after the tragic deaths of these servicemembers, the president ordered airstrikes on seven sites in Iraq and Syria connected to militia groups and Iranian forces. While these strikes might temporarily degrade some of Iran’s capability in the region, the regime’s proxy organizations — including the Houthis — continue to attack U.S. forces and commercial ships. The U.S. also warned for days where these attacks would happen, which no doubt allowed our enemies to prepare and escape. Again, President’s Biden’s response was too little, too late.
It’s time to understand that our enemies have already escalated, and they will continue to escalate. Whatever steps President Biden takes next, he must respond strongly enough to restore deterrence. To stand up for our country, to stand against the murder of Americans, and to stand with Israel, we must clearly demonstrate to Iran that they will pay a price for their continued support of terrorism.
President Biden must finally restore credible deterrence — which is the only way to prevent escalation.
Thank you for participating in the democratic process. I look forward to visiting with you again next week.