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R.J.C. director Lee Zeldin, with Republican congressmen Mike Waltz (FL), Don Bacon (NE), Byron Donalds (FL) and Jim Banks (IN)
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Former congressman
Lee Zeldin (NY-1) moderated a Republican Jewish Coalition Forum panel last weekend with House Representatives Mike Waltz (FL-6), Rep. Don Bacon (NE-2), Rep. Byron Donalds
(FL-19), and Rep. Jim Banks (IN-03). Zeldin, presently an R.J.C. Board Director, shepherded the GOP congressmen to discuss several key issues, including the threat posed by
Iran, China, and Israel's ongoing conflict with Islamist imperialism.
Rep. Jim Waltz
discussed Iranian-trained Hamas' October 7th invasion of Israel's southern towns being presumed a failure of the American intelligence apparatus.
I'm not convinced it was the intelligence failure that we're being led to believe. I do think we picked up indicators. The problem is if our analysts, our collectors, are pushing those indicators up to our policy makers - that are either ignorantly or willfully on the side of Iran - were they then ignored? And when you have the lead negotiator for the Obama Administration Rob Malley - who was then the lead negotiator for the Biden Administration, Rob Malley, that were obsessed with the Iran Deal 2.0.
His entire ring is still sitting in government! He's being investigated by the FBI his security clearance has been pulled but (Ms. Ariane) Tabatabai is the chief of staff for Special Operations in the Pentagon right now - today! She is sitting on top secret systems with our most compartmented information across our most sensitive programs against Iran - and she hasn't been removed! This Administration won't remove her!
But we're getting after it, Lee, and we're digging hard because there is, I believe, there is a scandal and a conspiracy here that only House Republicans can uncover. And then second, Lee, I don't believe this was an intelligence problem - this is a policy problem.
Reps. Byron Donald and Jim Banks discuss the
economic sanctions on Iran and the reintroduction of the Maximum Pressure Campaign Act
to codify previously successful sanctions under President Trump. Lee Zeldin introduces Jim Banks to highlight his and, particularly, former House Speaker Rep. Kevin McCarthy's role in the Select Committee on the Chinese
Communist Party and its efforts to stop the flow of American investment
dollars to China's military.
Rep. Mike Waltz discusses the failure of the intelligence apparatus in relation to
the Iranian threat and criticizes the Biden administration for its slow
pace in withdrawing troops from Afghanistan. Donald and Banks discuss
the economic sanctions on Iran and the reintroduction of the Maximum Pressure Campaign Act to codify previously successful sanctions under President Trump. Rep. Jim Banks said, "We have to recognize that our biggest adversary, China is Iran's best friend and China is no friend to Israel. They've called for a ceasefire in Gaza what as as Walt said one-third of Iran's oil exports go to China so we have to we have to recognize that that threat is very much linked and we have to do something about it and I believed that on the Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party that we're going to make that one of our big missions over the year left that we have in this Congress to move forward. It is a bipartisan committee and that's the good part.
The bad part is that the Democrats are so bad and weak on the China subject today that you think that in many ways the political interests that are most friendly to China own the Democrat Party today. And that's something that's very sad to me someone who grew up in a working-class, union household in Indiana. To know that the Democrat Party is the power is the party that is most intertwined with the corporate interests that are that selling us out to China each and every day.
The panelists also touched on the ongoing conflict between Israel and Islamic State and the need for strong U.S. policy to support Israel and its allies in the fight against terrorism. Overall, the speakers emphasize the threats posed by Iran, China, and terrorist groups, and the critical role that the US needs to play in countering those threats.