Pointing to United States history, Sen. Chris Murphy on Wednesday questioned whether Israel’s military strategy in its war against Gaza could make future terrorist attacks more likely.
“History tells us that the application of overwhelming military force can in fact grow terrorist threats, not shrink them,” the Connecticut Democrat said at a Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing about the fiscal year 2025 budget request. “If Israel's strategy is making it more likely, not less likely, that future terrorist attacks will occur, then it is not an effective strategy.”
The U.S. confirmed Tuesday that it paused the shipment of thousands of weapons to Israel last week, including 1,800 2,000-pound bombs and 1,700 500-pound bombs, amid concerns about an expanding Israeli military operation in the Gazan city of Rafah that experts warn could lead to a dramatically higher civilian death toll. A U.S. official reportedly said the Biden administration is concerned about how Israel would use the larger bombs in a dense urban setting. It’s the first confirmed time the United States has paused sending arms since Israel’s invasion of Gaza following Hamas’ October 7th terrorist attacks. The U.S. is reportedly also reviewing other planned transfers.
It’s not clear whether these shipments would resume down the line. The U.S. has provided Israel with tens of thousands of bombs and missiles since the war began. Last month, Congress approved another $14 billion in military aid, which is not affected by this pause.
Murphy pointed to the United States’ wars in Afghanistan and Iraq — which were rooted in combating terrorism, but terrorism eventually grew in those countries in the years that followed the beginning of American military operations.
“It’s stunning to me how this country and our allies fail to learn recent history lessons. Those recent history lessons, in both Afghanistan and Iraq, tell us that there are substantial grave limitations to the ability of military force to eliminate a terrorist threat,” Murphy said. “It’s all well and good to get angry about a conversation U.S. is having with Israel over the right strategy to defeat terrorism, but we have lots of experience in failed strategies.”
