Rep. Michael Waltz, a combat-decorated Green Beret, said Monday it was President Donald Trump's prerogative to pull back on strikes on Iran last week in response to the downing of a U.S. surveillance drone, but he does not agree with that decision.
"To be clear, I think we should have responded, and I think we should have responded proportionately, whether that is oil platforms, some of the ships that have been attacking tankers, or the missile batteries," the Florida Republican told CNN's "New Day." "Of course, it's the president's absolute right as commander in chief to pull that back. But I think what we are seeing from the Iranians today is that they're going to continue to push. I think we should have carried out the strike, yes, I do."
Iran wants sanctions relief, said Waltz, and it wants to create controversy in the United States so it will back off its sanctions policy.
Meanwhile, countries like Iran, North Korea, and Russia are seeing that Trump is "not a warmonger" after the pullback, said Waltz, but still, "Iran historically has been emboldened by perceived weakness or perceived latitude, and will continue to push like a schoolyard bully who will keep pushing and taking kids' lunch money until they are faced with force."
Waltz said he does agree that the Iran nuclear agreement was incomplete, as it did not allow inspectors to check military sites.
"It's like having a search warrant on a criminals' home, but you can't check all of the bedrooms, and you have to give them a month's notice that it's coming," said Waltz. "Second of all, it didn't cover terrorism."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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