McCormick: War against Hamas ‘battle between good and evil’
WASHINGTON — David McCormick says a trip to Israel this week strengthened his view that the U.S. must support the country in its war against Hamas.
Mr. McCormick, a Republican former hedge fund CEO running for U.S. Sen. Bob Casey’s seat, told reporters Friday that his visit with survivors of Hamas’ brutal Oct. 7 attack and hostages’ families was emotional and showed that the U.S. should do all in its power to help Israel eliminate the terrorist organization.
A former George W. Bush administration official, Mr. McCormick also said he met with Israeli Defense Forces and government officials and discussed the importance of “America’s moral clarity in dealing with this crisis, which is not just an assault on Israel and the future of Israel, but really a battle between good and evil.”
Mr. McCormick said the Obama administration’s Iran nuclear agreement — a push to curtail the country’s nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief — gave Iran access to funds to underwrite “terrorist proxies” including Hamas, Hezbollah and Islamic Jihad. Former President Donald Trump pulled out of the deal in 2018, but Mr. McCormick said a policy of appeasement with Iran continues under President Joe Biden.
He called on the U.S. to implement an aggressive “multilateral across-countries sanctions regime that would put Iran back in the box,” and for a stronger response to direct attacks against American citizens and soldiers in the Middle East.
“Our adversaries smell weakness and they’re testing us, and we’re failing the test,” Mr. McCormick said.
The president’s support for Israel after Oct. 7 has drawn praise from both Democrats and Republicans, the Pittsburgh-area Jewish community and Israeli officials, although Mr. Biden has received criticism from some factions in his own party.
U.S. Rep. Summer Lee, D-Swissvale, and other progressive Democrats have pressed for a cease-fire and criticized Israel for civilian casualties among the Palestinian population of Gaza. Hamas, designated as a terrorist group by the U.S., had broken the existing cease-fire with its attack.
More than 20,000 have died during Israel’s retaliatory offensive in Gaza, according to the Associated Press.
Mr. Casey told WGAL last month that the U.S. must continue to support Israel’s efforts to “wipe out Hamas,” which he said “holds up their own people as human shields and puts people at risk in order to further their murderous, terroristic aims.”
He said the task at hand is to defeat Hamas “in a way that minimizes civilian casualties.”
“There will be back and forth debates on military strategy,” he said. “But we’re two allies, that’s what allies do, they talk all the time. But the main thing is that we’re going to
help them, and have helped them.”
Mr. McCormick said Friday that the best group to decide how to conduct the war is Israel. He said Hamas had embedded itself in civilian infrastructure in Gaza, blocked the flow of aid and kept civilians from leaving.
“As a soldier, I look at every innocent death happening in Gaza as absolutely regrettable,” he said. “I believe the Israeli military is taking all the steps they can to minimize the impact of its military operation on innocent civilians.”