Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., on Sunday compared Israel’s war against Hamas to the U.S. decision to drop atomic bombs on Japan in World War II during an interview on NBC News’ “Meet the Press.”
“When we were faced with destruction as a nation after Pearl Harbor, fighting the Germans and the Japanese, we decided to end the war by bombing [of] Hiroshima [and] Nuclear-armed Nagasaki,” Graham said. “That was the right decision.”
He added: “Give Israel the bombs it needs to end the war. They can’t afford to lose.”
Graham, a staunch supporter of Israel, used the analogy several times in condemning President Joe Biden for threatening to withhold certain weapons of Israel if it launches a military operation in Rafah, the southernmost city of Gaza, where more than a million civilians are sheltered.
Asked by moderator Kristen Welker why everything was fine with President Ronald Reagan withhold certain weapons from Israel during the war in Lebanon in the 1980s, but it was not acceptable for Biden to threaten to do so now, Graham once again brought up World War II.
“Can I say that?” he asked. “Why is it okay for America to drop two nuclear bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki to end their existentially threatening war? Why was it okay for us to do this? I thought it was ok.”
He added: “So Israel, do whatever it takes to survive as a Jewish state. Whatever you have to do.
Welker fired back, telling Graham that U.S. military officials say technology has changed enormously since World War II, a point she also made earlier in the interview.
“Yes, those military officers you’re talking about are full of shit,” Graham responded.
His comments came shortly after Secretary of State Antony Blinken joined the program and refused to identify a “red line” with Israel, telling Welker: “In the absence of a credible plan to obtain [civilians] out of danger and to support them, the president made it clear some time ago that we could not and would not support a major military operation in Rafah.”
Blinken also discussed US concerns about the use of “high payload” bombs, telling Welker: “We have held back and are in active conversations with Israel about providing heavy weapons or high payloads, large bombs, for because of the concern we have about the effect these weapons may have when used in a dense urban environment like Rafah.”
Graham argued that Hamas is to blame for civilian casualties during the conflict.
“I think it is impossible to mitigate civilian deaths in Gaza as long as Hamas uses its own population as a human shield. I have never seen in the history of war such blatant efforts by an enemy – Hamas – to put civilians at risk,” he said.
“The last thing you want is to reward this behavior,” Graham added.
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