One of the defining features noticed by observers of the first debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump was the format, which many have described as a three-against-one debate against the former President, that resulted in Harris being shielded from the hardest questions on inflation, crime, immigration, and foreign affairs.
Focusing on the one issue that is probably the most pressing for the readers of The Jerusalem Post is the refusal of the moderators to press Harris on the origin of the Israel-Hamas war: Why did the war start on your watch? And why are the hostages, including American citizens, still held by Hamas, a US government-designated terrorist organization?
Because this question was not answered for the American people last night, we must take the time to answer it now.
The war began because this administration lacked the will to defend Israel, and its own citizens— a direct result of the weakness of its foreign policy in the Middle East and other parts of the world.
Our senior leadership subscribes to the toxic ideology of appeasing the enemies of democracy, including those currently at war with the State of Israel. This has manifested itself in their execution of the withdrawal from Afghanistan, the war in Ukraine, and, unfortunately, its treatment of the aggressors against the state of Israel.
It all comes down to the change of policies from the Trump administration, which was determined and successful in choking Iran from its sources of financing, imposing sanctions on Iran, and confronting its terrorist activities, including the elimination of the head of the Revolutionary Guards General Soleimani.
The current administration lifted sanctions on Iran, allowed them to trade oil on international markets, paid ransom for hostages being held, and filled its coffers with the money necessary to feed its proxy forces, Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
This is exactly the policy that is being replicated now in the confrontation between Israel and Hamas, where the US administration is leaning on Israel to accommodate the demands of the terrorist group.
This gave Hamas the incentive and opportunity to perpetuate the slaughter of 1200 innocent people on October 7, as they could count on not being held accountable for their barbaric actions by the US administration.
The moral weakness of this foreign policy is inescapable. From the bloodshed of the Afghanistan withdrawal to the opening salvos of the war in Ukraine (including President Biden’s statement about a “minor incursion”), the flawed philosophy of Democrats has become a failed policy in every corner of the globe.
This inability to stand up to the worst dictators in this world is scaring many into the possibility of open conflicts or nuclear blackmail. This has already resulted in multitudes of innocents dead.
Judging by yesterday’s debate, there doesn’t appear to be any desire for Kamala Harris or her party to self-correct.
But it doesn't have to be this way forever.
President Trump offers the American people diplomacy that works: peace through strength.
We do not have to speculate about the foreign policy of the next Trump administration because we know exactly what President Trump did during his first term. President Trump supported Israel by making peace with its neighbors, starved Iran of its funding used to finance terrorism, stopped the construction of the Nord Stream pipeline, and stopped tyrants all over the world by depriving them of the finances necessary to pursue their ambitions.
The inauguration of Donald Trump as President of the United States will send a strong signal to Iran and its proxies that they will no longer have a free hand to operate in the Middle East.
The American people are smart enough to see through yesterday’s debate and to understand why war broke out on Harris’s watch. Despite the ABC moderators refusing to ask the question, the American people know the answer to why this war started and who is best fit to end it.
Elizabeth Pipko is the GOP National Spokeswoman. She is also an author, model, and media personality and holds degrees from Harvard University and the University of Pennsylvania.