'This Week' Transcript 10-22-23: Sen. Tim Scott
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Good morning, Jon.
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Well, there's no doubt that the escalation in the Middle East seems to be happening before our very eyes. The two carriers are -- some -- one of them's already shooting down rockets. What we need to be prepared for is one of the reasons why we saw the fad missile system -- anti-defense system go into the Middle East is because we've seen conflict coming and we've seen rockets fired not only at Israel, but we've seen our own troops under pressure and, frankly, under attack as well.
So, what we need to do is make sure that we put the blame where it belongs, and that's on Iran. We need to send the clearest message that if we see the death of more Americans, that that is on the shoulders, frankly, and in the hands of Iran. We need to deal with Hamas and Hezbollah by giving Israel the resources, the equipment. They already have the manpower. They've called up 360,000 troops. But fighting a war on two different borders is going to be something we should keep our eyes on. And we should send the message to Hezbollah, stand down or there will be consequences.
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I am not, as the package is currently constructed. I believe that leveraging the challenges in the war with Israel to get more assistance for Ukraine at that level of $60 billion is too much, and we need to have a single focus on bringing Congress together behind the support for Israel. That package would pass overnight. Having a package that's splintered makes it more difficult to get through the houses of Congress and give the aid where we need it and sending a unified support to Israel.
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I will in the current construct. There's no doubt that we spent about -- over the last two years $100 billion to Ukraine in this one package. It's $61 billion for Ukraine. Only $14 billion for Israel. Israel is at the beginning of a long, protracted war.
I think we are much better off, better served as a nation, focusing our resources and our attention immediately on Israel and continuing to provide the kind of level of accountability and responsibility the American people want to see as it relates to the resources for Ukraine.
If we do those separately, I believe we get the Israel package done almost overnight, and then we have the longer process of providing more resources depending on the level to Ukraine.
But, most importantly, I'd say, there is the southern border that must be addressed in the middle of this. One of the challenges that we've seen on our southern border are people coming from actually Iran, from Yemen, from Syria. Thousands of people have crossed our southern border, and on both sides of the aisle. The one thing we can agree upon is that the national security threat, represented by an unsafe, insecure, and wide open border, has never been higher than it is today.
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I don't, actually. I'm a happy warrior, without any question. But we are now in the midst of a conflict, and so the warrior in me requires responsibility to start at the top. When you think about the fact that the weakness of Joe Biden attracts conflict around this world, and frankly, the negotiations with Iran is -- was specifically I was talking about. Six billion dollars for hostages only creates a bigger market for Americans abroad.
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And that money...
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Jon, let me finish.
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Let me finish, Jon. That money, we know Hamas's first thank you was to Iran. Ninety percent of their money comes from -- from Iran. Put those pieces of the puzzle together. That's why this administration froze those dollars just last week.
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Yes.
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Well, Jon, let's just...
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go right back to where we find ourselves. Jon, let -- let me finish my thought here, because I think it's important for your viewers to hear the actual truth, as I see it. There's no doubt that, when you have President Biden negotiating with the Iranians for the release of hostages -- I said this under President Obama as well. When the -- when we paid $400 million for hostages, you are creating a market for -- for American lives to be lost. When you pay $6 billion, do not be surprised when the result of that $6 billion leads to more conflict in the Middle East. And we've seen more than 30 Americans lose their lives.
I'm saying with great clarity that weakness from the American president, plus the negotiations, leading to terrorist attacks by negotiating with the number one state sponsor of terrorism in the world. Yes, it creates complicity.
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We can agree that -- no doubt, the...
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The person who pulls the trigger is primarily responsible, but that does not release the president of our country as being complicit and responsible in what we're seeing...
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unfold in part."
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