While not in the room, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s presence on the Hill drove the early split in today’s House Armed Services Committee hearing with the commander of U.S. Central Command Gen. Lloyd Austin on what to do about Iran.
“We should not validate Iran’s standing in the region by letting them have threshold nuclear capability,” Chairman Rep. Mac Thornberry, R-Texas, said in his opening remarks.
“On Iran – the idea that somehow we do a deal with them [to keep them from being on the threshold of nuclear capability], well, they’ve already done that — there is no deal,” countered ranking member Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash.
Smith added that Iran’s involvement in Iraq, where it is “one of the countries leading [the] offensive” in Tikrit that Iraq launched this weekend without U.S. support or involvement, is an example of the many complex security challenges in the region that Smith said “defies a comprehensive strategy.”
Gen. Austin, in his opening remarks,said that “whether we reach and agreement or not” Iran will continue to be a challenge for U.S. forces.
The hearing barely got through its opening statements before the room had to cleared to allow members time to enter the Capitol to hear Netanyahu speak.
