Read the full column by Senator Fischer on kearneyhub.com
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 Oct. 7. 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 Oct. 7, 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 Oct. 7, the president didn’t only fail Israel — he failed America’s military.
In the four months after Oct. 7, Iran-backed militias attacked U.S. troops not once, not twice — but more than 150 times. Biden allowed not days, not weeks, but months of unanswered attacks 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 Oct. 7, not to mention the Americans still being held hostage in Gaza.
