Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) said Sunday that the U.S. has “no obligation” to hand over a blank check to any of their allies after the Biden administration said it would be narrowing some bomb shipments to Israel.
Murphy pushed back on Sen. John Fetterman’s (D-Pa.) recent comments about supplying aid to Israel on CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday. Co-host Dana Bash said Fetterman recently said withholding military aid to Israel “demonstrates to Hamas that they’re winning the PR war and they’re exploiting America’s compassion.”
“So, we have no obligation to write a blank check of military support to any of our allies,” Murphy responded. “We have a right, as a sovereign nation with our own independent security concerns, to make sure that, when we are partnering with an ally, that we are partnering with a winning strategy.
“Our own national security experts tell us that this is a generation — this moment will have a generational impact on the growth of terrorism around the globe. I want Hamas gone. I don’t want them to ever have the ability to hit Israel again. I worry that the number of civilians that are dying are ultimately going to provide permanent recruiting material to Hamas, and Hamas will remain a threat for years to come to Israel,” he said.
Fetterman has been a staunch supporter of Israel and has pushed against implementing conditions on aid to the country.
Murphy also said he agreed with the Biden administration’s move to delay some bomb shipments to Israel amid a looming invasion of Rafah — where more than 1 million civilians are estimated to be sheltering.
“And so, in Israel, what Joe Biden is telling the Israelis is: We will be partners with you, but you have to understand that the pace of civilian casualties. The amount of humanitarian disaster there is, in the long run, going to make Hamas stronger, is going to make it more likely that Israel will be attacked again, and is going to make other terrorist organizations that have designs to attack the United States stronger,” he said.