Rep. Pat Fallon, R-Texas, told Newsmax Friday that the root of the problems for the United States in the Middle East with Iranian-backed proxies is that President Joe Biden "doesn't understand ... deterrence."
Biden thought that unlocking billions of dollars for Iran would result in the terrorist state playing nice with the U.S., Fallon said, adding that Iran responds only to a "gun to their head."
"Rob, you and I live on Earth," Fallon said to host Rob Schmitt on "Rob Schmitt Tonight." "[Biden officials] are in orbit around Neptune. I don't understand it. It all makes no sense."
Former President Donald Trump understood deterrence, Fallon said, pointing to Trump's taking out Iranian Gen. Qasem Soleimani a little more than four years ago.
"The Iranian regime, the best English they understand is a gun to their head," Fallon said, "and President Trump proved that when he killed Soleimani, and they were on notice that maybe their lives will be at stake now, and that's why they act through these proxies."
Proxies like the Houthi terrorists have been terrorizing shipping lanes in the Red Sea for weeks. Biden greenlighted multiple strikes on Houthi targets Thursday, none of which are likely to deter them, Fallon said.
"Biden doesn't understand ... deterrence. He didn't understand it with Ukraine. The best time to invest in Ukraine and protect them was before the Russians struck, because then maybe [Russian President Vladimir] Putin would have understood there would be dire consequences," Fallon said.
"President Trump made that clear because in the four years he was president, was Georgia attacked? No. Was Crimea taken? No. Was Ukraine invaded full-scale? No. Putin didn't do anything because he was in check because the Trump team deterred him.
"It worked."
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Mark Swanson ✉
Mark Swanson, a Newsmax writer and editor, has nearly three decades of experience covering news, culture and politics.
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