Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) cautioned Sunday that there is a “real fear of escalation” amid Iran’s missile and drone attack on Israel over the weekend.
Vance said that he agreed with Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) on Sunday, who also appeared on CNN’s “State of the Union” and suggested that there could be further escalation amid the Iranian attack on Israel.
“Well, I certainly think there is a real fear of escalation. Senator [Chris] Coons is right about that. Part of the reason why we have a fear of escalation, Jake, is because our deterrence is so weak. And why is it so weak because the world sees the United States that’s stretched so thin,” he said on “State of the Union.”
The U.S. helped Israel thwart drone and missile attacks launched by Iran over the weekend. Israeli officials are meeting Sunday to discuss how the country should respond to the attack as the U.S. has said it is “not looking” for a wider war in the region.
Vance said that the U.S. should first focus on its manufacturing capacity and ensure it has enough to support its troops and closest allies.
“I think if we want to reestablish deterrence, the most important thing is not how we or Israel respond to this attack. It’s how we focus on the long term on rebuilding our country. People aren’t worried that we’re not thumping our chest enough. I know that’s the John Bolton response to this,” he added.
He said that while he will not advise Israel on how to respond, he believes the U.S. should help prevent the issue from becoming a larger conflict and also continue to support Israel.
“It’s great to actually see bipartisan leadership from across the aisle saying that we certainly stand with our friends in Israel. I’m not going to pretend to counsel Israel on their strategic response to this,” Vance said.
“I think the most important thing for the United States here is to one, prevent this from becoming a broader regional conflict because we’re already stretched very thin, and two, to support our Israeli allies.”
Tyler Mitchell