House Majority Leader Eric Cantor on Monday said the world only needs to listen to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad or Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei to understand the threat that a nuclear Iran poses.
The vocal commitment by the leaders of the Islamic Republic to eliminate Israel and repeated failed attempts to negotiate an end to their nuclear weapons programs demands a U.S. response.
“America must be prepared to lead from the front,” the Virginia Republican said in remarks to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee 2013 Policy Conference. “And the challenge should not be Israel’s alone to bear.”
Urgent: Should Obama Ban Guns? Vote in Poll
Cantor said that nuclear talks with Iran cannot be unending, and that they may fail. Military action may become necessary to protect Israel, the U.S. and their allies, he said.
“Some in Washington hold the view that Iran is all bluster, that Iran can be contained and negotiated with,” he continued. “But that impression is wrong.”
He addressed the more than 70,000 Syrians who have been killed by President Bashar al-Assad in a rebel uprising that began two years ago.
He said that the United States cannot ensure that those who succeed the regime will be greater allies to the U.S. or Israel, but more lives are guaranteed to be lost if America does not act.
“The United States cannot and should not stand aside and let the chips fall where they may,” he said. “We’ve got to be on the side of those looking to end Assad’s tyranny.
“We will have failed to shape the outcome of this conflict. And we will guarantee that Syria’s future leaders will not have known the helping hand of America when the Syrian people so desperately needed help.”
© 2013 Newsmax. All rights reserved.