Senator Lindsey Graham blasted the Middle Eastern retaliation strikes, saying they were poorly planned and executed and failed miserably to serve as a deterrent.
The Republican from South Carolina was very critical of when the attacks occurred, saying that the people targeted had too much notice.
Several members of the proxy forces backed by Iran were killed, according to preliminary assessments from the ground. While the military continues to analyze the situation, national security adviser Jake Sullivan declined to divulge the actual casualty figure during Sunday’s interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
The drone attack last month at the Tower 22 military base in Jordan killed three US soldiers and wounded many more. The Biden administration has responded with two sets of retaliatory strikes. The military struck more than 85 targets in Iraq and Syria on Friday. The administration has placed the responsibility for last month’s tragic drone attack on the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an umbrella group that has Iranian support.
Just hours after a solemn transfer ceremony commemorating the three servicemen ended at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware, that revenge occurred.
Saturday saw the United States and the United Kingdom bomb 36 Houthi locations in Yemen.
Sullivan stated on “Meet the Press” that while some may be quick to judge, the team is confident in the actions they have taken thus far.
The Pentagon reports that there were around 158 strikes on US and allied soldiers in the region between the surprise attack in Israel on October 7, 2023, and the drone strike in Jordan.
Graham, who has a reputation as a foreign policy hawk, was dissatisfied.
On Sunday, Graham claimed that the United States’ national security “is in free fall” due to events such as the U.S. pullout from Afghanistan in 2021, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and the continuing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
He said the United States must strike at something the Ayatollah “values,” maybe his executive staff or oil company.
