Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) unloaded on President Joe Biden in a letter this week over the administration’s efforts to withhold weapons and ammunitions shipments from Israel as Democrats look to quell anger from the pro-Hamas-wing of their party.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called out the Biden administration on Tuesday for the decision to delay the shipments, which came just hours after The Wall Street Journal reported earlier in the day that the administration was withholding a fleet of F-15 jets being shipped to Israel, even though Congress approved the sale a month ago.
The administration has withheld everything from rifles meant to arm local Israeli communities who are at risk of being overrun by Islamic terrorists to precision bombs that could reduce collateral damage in the war.
“I write regarding Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s public statement this week that your administration has been withholding weapons and ammunition from Israel and hampering its war effort against Hamas—a serious accusation from a trusted U.S. ally,” Cotton’s letter, which was obtained by reporter Adam Kredo, began. “Your administration responded by claiming that aid is flowing normally, with one official asserting, ‘We genuinely do not know what he’s talking about.'”
Cotton noted that the administration’s claim that the only delay is on a shipment of 2,000-pound and 500-pound bombs was false.
“You’re deliberately misleading the American people and insulting a key ally,” he said. “As you are aware, the Arms Export Control Act requires the administration to notify Congress before sending weapons to a foreign country. Your administration has manipulated this requirement by withholding this formal notification to Congress of approved weapons sales, including F-15s, tactical vehicles, 120-mm mortars, 120- mm tank rounds, joint direct attack munitions, and small diameter bombs.”
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Cotton explained that the administration’s move to tinker with the bureaucratic process allows them to claim that the weapons orders are “in process” while they have no intention of ever delivering the weapons.
“The law also includes an exception for ‘when emergencies exist,’ which allows you to waive the requirement for congressional review and expedite weapons sales,” Cotton said. “Your administration is obviously aware of this exception since you invoked it just last year. Yet, it appears that you stopped acknowledging the emergency in Israel after receiving a letter from nearly twenty congressional Democrats in January, urging you to end expedited weapons sales to Israel. Though your administration reportedly released a ship carrying at least some of these arms on Wednesday, that modest step doesn’t cure the damage done by the delay.”
“You’re playing politics with the nation’s honor and our ally’s security,” he continued. “Worse still, your administration lacks the honesty to communicate its true policy to the American people, instead preferring to hide behind weasel words and bureaucratic process. Any delays to military support to Israel blatantly disregard Congress’s bipartisan mandate to supply Israel with all it needs to defeat the Hamas terrorists and other Iranian-backed groups. Our ally is under sustained threat, and we must use all available resources to expedite military aid.”
Cotton then demanded that the administration provide answers to a list of questions by July 1, 2024, including details about additional weapons that they are delaying sending to Israel, all requests that Israel has made for support, all weapons that Israel has asked to be expedited to them, what the administration’s justification is for not promptly delivering the orders, and more.
