WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Steve Daines today joined Newsmax to discuss “Operation Epic Fury.”
Watch the full interview HERE.
Daines on President Trump’s bold leadership:
“These are the same critics that went after President Trump during his first administration when he took out Soleimani. President Trump has been decisive; he has moral clarity on the situation, not only in the Middle East, but around the world. Keep in mind what’s happened just in the last five days is remarkable. Forty-seven years of a reign of terror and tyranny in Iran, the greatest single destabilizing force in the Middle East and the world, the leading sponsor of terror in the world, the backers of Hamas, of Hezbollah, of the Houthis. As I’ve been traveling around the world over the course of the last 12 months, I’ve been in Qatar, I’ve been in the Emirates, I’ve been in Saudi Arabia, I’ve been in Bahrain. The topic is always front and center about the threat Iran poses, not only to the Middle East, but to the United States and to Israel. They call the United States the “great Satan,” and they call Israel the “little Satan.” They chant “Death to America.” It was only a matter of time before they had capabilities to take out the United States with a nuclear weapon. It was either we’re going to wait for them to do it or for us to preemptively strike with this imminent threat. I am thankful for President Trump and this administration, their bold and decisive leadership, because this is a generational moment. This is for our children and our grandchildren. Think about what the world would look like with an Iran that was pro-Western, pro-U.S., had a strong relationship with Israel. This is a game changer. Thank God for President Trump and his leadership.”
Daines on how President Trump is giving the Iranian people the chance for freedom:
“I’m very confident in the capabilities of the United States military, and now the help, of course, with the Israelis, as well as many of our partners in the Middle East are now joining the fight. I don’t think it was anticipated that we’re going to have so much additional cooperation, literally looking for strike packages and additional resources here militarily to take out the Iranian leadership. This is good news. The administration is saying it’s going to be four to five weeks. That’s probably an accurate assessment. But keep in mind, over the last 47 years, there’s only been two Ayatollahs since the Shah was deposed back in 1979. The first Ayatollah was there for 10 years. The second Ayatollah was there for 37 years until he was just killed four days ago. If you look at the arc of history, President Trump now is changing history and he’s moving us in a direction that was going to bring greater peace and stability. It’ll be about the Iranian people determining the future of Iran. But by taking out the Iranian leadership, by taking out their military capabilities, this gives the Iranian people a chance now to reset a much better, bolder, brighter, peaceful future.”
Daines on future regime change:
“No doubt that we do. And I don’t see this as being a protracted conflict. I don’t see us with boots on the ground. We are not going to be nation-building. One of the mistakes in Afghanistan was nation-building. That’s not going to happen. There’s a very clear mission, and that was to ensure we took out the imminent threat of the United States, and that the capability of Iranians to produce a nuclear bomb, coupled with an intercontinental ballistic type delivery vehicle. That is being accomplished. Of course, taking out the leadership. There are late reports in the last 30 minutes that perhaps there was a strike in Iran that might have taken up to 80 Iranian leaders. This gives the Iranian people a chance to take power and to serve the people again like they had once upon a time and to put in place leaders that believe in peace, prosperity, and believe in a strong relationship with Israel and the United States. That will absolutely be a game changer, but that’s not going to require a protracted type engagement by the United States. This should be get in and get out.”
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Contact: Matt Lloyd, Gabby Wiggins