President Donald Trump’s actions this weekend against Iran mark a decisive shift in U.S. policy, as the strikes were long overdue and aimed at dismantling what he called the world’s leading sponsor of terrorism, Rep. Derrick Van Orden said Sunday on Newsmax.
"It's going to change the world," the Wisconsin Republican told Newsmax's "Carl Higbie: FRONTLINE," in special coverage of the situation in Iran.
"[His] bold leadership is doing something that should have been done for the last 47 years, and that's getting rid of the world's largest state sponsor of terrorism that is responsible for killing thousands of American citizens, closing international shipping, costing billions of dollars for the world economy, and just destabilizing a region," said Van Orden.
The broader objective is peace and prosperity for the Iranian people, he added.
"We want the Persian people to live in peace with their neighbors, be able to prosper and have freedom within their own country," Van Orden said. "That's the goal."
The congressman pushed back on criticism from Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and other Democrats, who in recent months questioned Trump's approach to Iran.
"These people are going to say anything they possibly can to counter Trump," Van Orden said. "If Donald Trump came out today and said oxygen was good for you, there'd be thousands of people, including Chuck Schumer and Adam Schiff, walking around with plastic bags over their heads."
Van Orden said the issue transcends party politics.
"At some point, you have to put aside this crazy partisan politics stuff and realize that what we're doing is not just good for America, it's good for the world," he said.
"If any elected member of the United States government is cheering for these mullahs, they need to resign in shame," Van Orden added. "Right now, this is an American issue. It's not a Democrat issue. It's not a Republican issue."
The current approach reflects a doctrine of "peace through strength," he said.
"For 47 years, no one tried," Van Orden said. "We did this tit-for-tat sort of stuff and just try to keep things at a slow burn.
"Well, that's not peace. Peace comes through strength. And what you're seeing is peace through strength."
Van Orden said the administration's goal is to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons and projecting power across the region.
"We need to make sure that we maintain this up-tempo on this stuff to remove the ability of these mullahs and the IRGC and everybody to project power within the region," he said. "We have to set the conditions for the Persian people to rise up and have their own government in place that will give them peace and prosperity."
He also said Trump sought negotiations before taking military action.
"Donald Trump didn't jump right into this bombing campaign with Israel," Van Orden said. "Donald Trump has been trying for months and months and months to negotiate with these guys.
"These guys had the chance to negotiate their way to peace. They refused to do so."
And, he said, "what you saw is him fulfilling a promise that these guys will not have the ability to have nuclear weapons, and that they're not going to be able to project power throughout the region.
"Promises made, promises kept."
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