Welcome to the commentary magazine Daily podcast today is Thursday October 12, 2020

23. I'm John Bajor. It's the editor of commentary magazine with me as always executive editor, a green walled high Abe. Hi, John media commentary column. This Christine Rose and

Hygristine. Hi, John Washington commentary column. This Matthew connetty. Hi, Matt. Hi, John. And we are privileged to have with us today, a man who is not only a member of the world's greatest

deliberative body senator from Arkansas, but is also the 2023 commentary magazine annual Rostee Tom cotton. Senator cotton. Thank you for joining us today.

Thank you, John for having me on. It's a pleasure to be on the commentary podcast is a 25 year subscriber to commentary. I could say it's only about time to be on the podcast and maybe even to be the

honorary at the annual Rost. Well, there you go. And by the way, if you in the ambit of my voice, if you wish to attend the Tom cotton roast on September, excuse me, September, November 12th here in New York City, go to commentary.org slash roast for more information. Senator cotton. We are now five days past the

uh, almost as I said yesterday, civil war battlefield level, casualty strike on Israel by Hamas, death toll now up to 1500 with 2000 more injured. That's 3,500 casualties in six hours. That is those are those are 19th century numbers.

Uh, you know, military hand to hand battlefield combat numbers. Uh, and Israel, of course, is now preparing the the nature of its response to you as somebody who, um, who has served in harm's way, um, serving the US military.

Uh, and are now going to be making policy, helping to make policy for the United States. Where do you think, uh, the Israelis are going to go now. They're obviously softening the field of battle with the air strikes to get rid of as many stray missiles or whatever is possible, but give us your sense.

John, first off, I want to express my deepest sympathy and condolences on behalf of all our canzans, uh, to the nation of Israel, or there's probably not a single soul and touched by the atrocities that happened over the weekend, either immediately or just one degree removed, um, as well as for the dozens of American families who've lost a loved one or have a loved one unaccounted for.

Uh, I think the only response to this unparalleled atrocity can be, uh, an attack of unparalleled ferocity against Hamas and Gaza.

Um, this is not going to be like past, uh, wars against Hamas or Hezbollah in 2006 or eight or 12 or 14 or 21, um, in which there was an exchange of missiles and then Israel struck certain targets.

Others pretty quickly, you had the left of the Democratic Party calling the shots along with the United Nations and the European Union and President Obama or President Biden, you know, beginning to demand restraint and proportionality.

There is nothing that Israel could do that would be disproportionate to the savagery we saw over the weekend of families being burned alive or small children being mutilated tortured killed.

Uh, I can't speak to exactly what Israel's military tactics will be, um, but obviously they are trying to destroy all of Hamas's key strong points and military infrastructure before the next phase of the battle and it will be brutal.

If Israel launches a ground invasion, it's going to be very tough, difficult fighting, uh, it'll make what our military did in Fallujah in 2004, uh, pale in comparison.

Uh, and there will be civilian casualties in Gaza as well.

Um, that will be directly responsible, uh, the direct responsibility of Hamas because Hamas uses kindergarten and hospitals and mosques to stage its attacks against Israel.

Hamas reportedly right now will not allow, uh, Gaza civilians to relocate to safe areas that the Israeli defense forces are recommending within Gaza so that the images we saw over the weekend of little children and women and elderly being killed are the result of Hamas's savagery.

And when those images inevitably come out of Hamas staging bodies for CNN and the New York Times in Al Jazeera, remember that's also the responsibility of Hamas as well.

And what the United States cannot do is what President Obama and President Biden have done in the past, which is immediately after those images come out begin to cave to that pressure of the democratic left or European counterparts and start calling for restraint or.

Proportionality or ceasefire again, there's nothing that Israel could do that would be disproportionate to the brutal savage atrocity you saw over the weekend and the only objective here has to be the complete destruction of Hamas, not just as a terror group, but as a governing entity and a social movement.

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