Retired Air Force Brig. Gen. Blaine Holt and retired Navy Capt. Brent Sadler told Newsmax on Tuesday that it is "unconscionable" for the United States to offer "official condolences" for Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, who died in a helicopter crash over the weekend.
"This is more theater of the absurd," Holt said during an appearance on "American Agenda." "Makes America certainly look weaker today, but we've seen this across the Capitol.
"I saw the secretary of defense, Lloyd Austin, make very somber, dramatic remarks from the podium about the loss of this president. Let's remind everybody, this president is a mass murderer. He's nicknamed the Butcher of Tehran, and he's also responsible for the death of many service men and women."
He continued: "I'm struck by the fact that we're just days away from Memorial Day, a day which will reflect on the ultimate loss and sacrifice of those in uniform to this nation, at which some of them died at the hands of Raisi.
"So, for us to watch as our ambassador at the U.N. recognizes and joins in the mourning for a thug and a mass murderer, it's just unconscionable. And it just explains, more optically, the absolute daylight between us and our ally Israel at a time when they're in a desperate fight existentially, and yet we stand today with Iran."
Sadler said that a "common theme with the Biden administration" is that its foreign policy is dictated by retaining "Democratic Party control of the levers of power" in the U.S. and "that unfortunately boils down to a few districts that have electorates that are not favorable to Israel."
"And thus our national policy," he said.
Commenting on Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., being criticized by his own party for his staunch support of Israel, Holt said that the mainstream media is "trying to create this magnifying lens that there really is this very, very wide divergence of opinion, and it almost splits down the middle."
"But we still are a country founded on Judeo-Christian principles, and we still have American values, and we still have a Constitution," Holt said. "And by and large, the majority of us all are outraged by this display that we see, by what we see happening on the college campuses, which is contrived, which is bought and paid for, centrally managed — look at the little green tents — all optics for the cameras."
He added: "But America is still America, and they can chase those 16 electoral votes in Michigan, but it's not going to change the hearts and souls and minds of an outraged, very, very upset American people who watch every single day as our dollars, our blood, and our treasure are squandered on zero strategy and hopeless endeavors to try to appease the Iranians into some sort of new world that simply doesn't exist."
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Nicole Weatherholtz ✉
Nicole Weatherholtz, a Newsmax general assignment reporter covers news, politics, and culture. She is a National Newspaper Association award-winning journalist.
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