Political Quotes

“Mr. President, tensions in the Middle East have escalated dramatically since Hamas, an Iranian-backed terrorist organization, launched its war on Israel on October 7 of last year, killing innocent men, women, and children and taking and still holding up to 132 hostages. Over the last few months, another Iranian proxy--Iran-backed militias--intensified their attacks throughout the region. There are Houthis in Yemen, there is Hezbollah in Lebanon, and, of course, as I mentioned, there are the attacks against Americans and American interests by Iranian proxies in Iraq and Syria. These conflicts are playing out thousands of miles away from here, but we are not just a distant and disinterested spectator. Thousands of American troops are stationed in the region--not engaged in combat operations but in carrying out a range of security and intelligence missions and helping the residents and citizens of those nations defend themselves and provide a stabilizing force against what is the No. 1 state sponsor of terrorism, which is the Iranian regime. The presence of these American troops is vital to the stability of the region and, as I said, our own security interests. We may engage in wishful thinking, thinking that what happens over there doesn't affect us here. You would think that after 9/11--albeit it occurring some 23 years ago now--it would have awakened us to the reality that what does happen in the Middle East does not stay in the Middle East.…”