The Biden administration has not been strong enough in warning Iran to prevent using its proxies to harm American citizens, Sen. James Lankford told Newsmax on Wednesday.
The Oklahoma Republican, who is a member of the Homeland Security Committee, told Newsmax's "Wake Up America" that "this administration has given a kind of tepid red line" [to Tehran] ... of saying don't attack us or we will respond rather than making a very clear statement to Iran that we will hold you to account every time one of your proxies attack United States citizens."
The senator added that Iran continues to stir up its proxies and threaten Americans, and that the U.S. evacuation of embassies in the Mideast "is giving a message of instability in the region."
Lankford also talked about the Biden administration's warning that Hamas terrorists might be crossing the U.S. southern border, saying the president is very late to even acknowledging the potential danger.
Lankford said there are some 70,000 "special interest aliens" from areas of the Middle East where it is known terrorism exists that the administration has basically ignored.
Despite this, Lankford said, these people are free to travel wherever they want within the United States and are not being monitored.
He said it is vital to remember that all the attackers on September 11 were in the U.S. illegally, so a basic lesson from that tragedy has been forgotten by this administration.
The senator also bemoaned the fact that if you are on the terror watch list, you are not allowed into the United States, "but if you are traveling with someone who is on the terror watch list, you are just released into the country awaiting your hearing." He said it should be clear that anyone traveling with a terrorist is also most likely not up to any good.
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Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
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