LARRY KUDLOW: Iran will only understand this force

As Iranian backed terrorists continue to hit U.S. military assets, most recently Iranian backed Houthi militia targeting Israeli commercial ships as well as the USS Carney, Biden National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan made this virtually unintelligible statement in the White House press room today: 

"The president and I, along with Secretary Blinken and Director Burns, will stay in touch with our Israeli and Qatar counterparts, as well as our Egyptian counterparts, to press Hamas on this issue. Right now, Hamas is refusing to release civilian women who should have been part of the agreement and it is that refusal by Hamas that has caused the end of the hostage agreement and therefore the end of the pause in hostilities."

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So, let me get this right. Mr. Sullivan, and presumably President Biden are going to "stay in touch" without counterparts in Israel, Qatar and Egypt to press Hamas on the issue of hostages. Sure. Right. We're going to sit down at a long white cloth rectangular table like in a well-pointed restaurant, to talk calmly with the cut-throat murderers of Hamas. Next thing you know, waiters will ask the Hamas cut-throats if they prefer their water plain or bubbly. I don't think so. These people are not civilized. 

Apart from the murder of 1,400 innocent Israeli and other civilians on October 7, murdering grannies, children, actually chopping heads off, actually putting children in ovens, we are now learning more about sexual violence and rape committed by Hamas. These people are not civilized. That is why you can't "stay in touch" with them. The problem for Mr. Sullivan and his boss Joe Biden and the entire foreign policy crew in the Biden administration is they continue to appease Iran, the paymaster and chief strategist of Hamas, Hezbollah, Houthis and others. 

This is about appeasement. It is also a failure of deterrence. Mr. Biden keeps talking about avoiding a Middle East war "escalation," but in fact Iran is doing the escalating. Appeasement will do that when you fear your enemy more than your enemy fears you. The United States government seems to be doing virtually nothing to deter the terrorists. Pinprick responses or, ridiculous diplomatic doublespeak and smoke-blowing from the White House Press room. 

Next time Mr. Sullivan appears in the White House Press room, some enterprising reporter should ask him when his administration will enforce the economic and energy sanctions mandated by Congress. Or, stop the $35 billion a year oil sales to China. Or, interdict illegal shipping or impounding illegal ships. Or, failing any of that, when will the mighty U.S. military be unleashed to destroy Iranian oil fields or command and control centers, or training centers? That kind of force is the only language Iran will ever understand. 

Right now, Joe Biden is not speaking their language and one of these days, a lot of American service men and women are going to get badly hurt, or worse because of Mr. Biden's continued malfeasance. 

This article is adapted from Larry Kudlow’s opening commentary on the December 4, 2023, edition of "Kudlow."