Israel war: Mitch McConnell lays out four-step plan following terrorist attack

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) outlined a four-step plan for the United States to assist Israel on Monday following the fatal terrorist attacks conducted by Hamas, which operates out of the Gaza Strip.

After Israel was invaded Saturday by armed Hamas terrorists and hundreds of civilians were killed, including women, children, and the elderly, while others were brought to Gaza as hostages, the Republican Senate leader is suggesting the best plan of action for America.

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“Those blessed to live in the democratic West must understand that this barbarism, like that in Russia’s war against Ukraine, threatens all of us,” McConnell wrote in a Monday op-ed for the Wall Street Journal. “The civilized world needs to offer Israel more than rhetorical solidarity.”

In order to help the U.S. ally, it will need to follow four steps. The first step is to “distinguish between the aggressor and the victim,” he wrote, adding that Israel needs “time and space to defend itself.”

He added that there can be no requests for “both sides” to deescalate. However, these calls have already been seen from members of Congress.

The second step, according to McConnell, is for the U.S. to act quickly in providing Israel with the necessary resources, which include “specific capabilities and intelligence support.”

“As we have seen in Ukraine, failure to act decisively can prolong the conflict and compound the costs of war,” he wrote, noting that the military’s repositioning of the USS Gerald R. Ford closer to Israel and initial munitions in transfers are “good first steps.”

The next step takes place at home. The senator explained that “America’s national defense” needs to be made a priority. “While war is expensive, failure costs more,” he said. McConnell criticized President Joe Biden for his past three budget requests, which have not increased defense spending enough to keep up with the rate of inflation, essentially acting as defense cuts. He also pointed out that while defense spending isn’t being kept up, the president is “substantially increasing nondefense spending.”

He urged Congress to pass emergency appropriations in order to fortify the U.S. military, saying that “this should include significant replenishment funding, which allows us to expand and modernize our own weapons inventories. It should also include investments to expand our ability to produce critical munitions, long-range fires, and other essential defense technologies here in America.”

The final step, per McConnell, is to “focus on Iran,” which was reportedly involved in the planning of Hamas’s attacks on Israel and gave its final approval. He called on the West to impose “extensive multilateral sanctions” and “deny Iranian planes overflight rights.” Further, he advised the impounding of Iranian shipping vessels used to get around sanctions.

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Any Iranian banks that have access to the West should additionally be closed, and any Iranian operation of European businesses should end, he said. McConnell added that Iranian officials should be treated “like pariahs” and “Iranian naval boats that threaten international shipping” should be sunk.

To help Israel amid its war, the Senate minority leader said the country will need the support of the “free world” and that this support must come in both “word and deed.”