The president’s response to aggression from Houthi rebels left retired U.S. Army Gen. Jack Keane “absolutely stunned” as Islamist threats expanded beyond the Israel-Hamas war.
“Why we’re still in this defensive role makes no sense to me whatsoever.”
(Video: Fox News)
Word that authorities in Germany and Netherlands had arrested members of Hamas alleged to have been plotting attacks targeting Jews in Europe compounded recent drone strikes against vessels in Middle Eastern waters.
While spokespeople from President Joe Biden’s administration have addressed widespread reactionary defensive measures as part of a de-escalation narrative, Keane voiced surprise over inaction “to shut these people down.”
Joining “Fox & Friends” host Brian Kilmeade on Friday, the retired four-star general sounded off, “I am absolutely stunned that we’re still sitting there in a defensive mode. I mean, obviously, we have the capability to defend ourselves. There’s no disputing that.”
“But to shut these people down, you have to take away their capability to do it. So you go after the — you go after their rockets. You go after their missiles. You go after their storage sites. You go after their command and control system,” he asserted. “I mean, we have very good intelligence on the Houthis, to be sure. And I also believe you go after the Iranians on this because they’re really calling the shots here, make no mistake about it.”
Earlier in the week, the Yemen-based Shia Islamist group was deemed responsible for firing missiles at and deploying drones against commercial vessels in the Red Sea. The U.S.S. Mason was dispatched to render aid after The U.S.S. Carney was reported to have interceded in previous strikes conducted by the Iranian-backed Houthis.
“Why we’re still in this defensive role makes no sense to me whatsoever. I know there’s a multi-task force coming that will escort the ships. But even that, in a sense, is a defensive role,” Keane told Kilmeade. “I mean, obviously, it’s the right thing to do. I’m not disputing that. But take away the capability that they have and punish them for what they’re doing. Otherwise, they’re gonna keep doing it. Iran is gonna keep telling them, shoot, shoot and shoot. And that’s just going to continue.”
“What we don’t want to see is the conflict in Israel widen to a regional war,” said Pentagon deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh on Dec. 4. “As of today, it has not.”
Keane went on to address pressures from officials for the Israel Defense Forces to wrap up the counteroffensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, calling them “really more political considerations than anything else. I don’t think it relates to what is actually happening on the ground.”
“This is a military campaign. It has military objectives, certainly, to eventually achieve a political objective: the removal of Hamas as a political entity,” said the general. “But the campaign itself, designed by the leaders in the IDF — they should be committed to execute this campaign and finish the job.”
“They know full well that more than half of Hamas fighters are still alive. They cannot bring this campaign to an end on a timeline set by somebody else,” argued Keane.
Native of Brooklyn, NY, Kevin Haggerty is a graduate of Hunter College where he studied Cultural Anthropology and Geography. An avid reader and truth seeker, he currently resides in Texas with his wife and their dog and, when he isn't researching current events and their impacts, you'll find him spending time with friends and family or working on his next novel.
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