{"id":2167816,"date":"2024-02-05T04:11:06","date_gmt":"2024-02-05T09:11:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/america-can-punch-back-at-iran-without-going-back-to-the-middle-east\/"},"modified":"2024-02-05T04:14:11","modified_gmt":"2024-02-05T09:14:11","slug":"america-can-punch-back-at-iran-without-going-back-to-the-middle-east","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/america-can-punch-back-at-iran-without-going-back-to-the-middle-east\/","title":{"rendered":"USA Can Retaliate Against Iran Sans Middle East Return"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Famerica-can-punch-back-at-iran-without-going-back-to-the-middle-east%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2167816&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div class=\"article-content\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Fracture Within the Republican Party<\/h2>\n<p>The\u2063 tragic murder of <a href=\"https:\/\/spectator.org\/three-soldiers-killed-in-middle-east\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">three American soldiers\u2062 by Iranian \u200bproxies<\/a> in Jordan has\u200d once again laid bare a fracture within the Republican Party. This fracture once again finds those\u2062 who advocate for an\u200d active American role in international\u2063 relations through \u201cpower projection\u201d locked in a debate with those who believe that the U.S. should take a more isolationist approach.<\/p>\n<p>Following the strike, some <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/2024\/01\/29\/lawmakers-demanding-biden-strike-iran-after-us-troop-deaths-in-jordan-.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Republican members of Congress reacted<\/a> by demanding\u200c that the\u2062 U.S. strike\u2063 targets in Iran and\u200d Iranian leadership directly. The opposite perspective, <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/TuckerCarlson\/status\/1751691808210362484\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">summarized by Tucker Carlson<\/a>: \u200b <strong>\u201cF-cking\u2062 lunatics.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2-long d-flex justify-content-center\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; \" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-180160865\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1379703300879-0\" class=\"mb-30\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-0f18f40b6902d8d72d7adf191c350149 fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-0f18f40b6902d8d72d7adf191c350149\"><\/div>\n<p>While both perspectives represent the extreme,\u2064 there\u200d is a growing and very vocal \u2064component of the right who believe that the best solution to American \u200cforces being killed or put\u200d in danger overseas is a complete \u200dwithdrawal from the world.<\/p>\n<p>They\u2063 use \u200blanguage that creates a\u2064 false equivalency between responding to an attack \u2062on\u200c Americans and \u201cstarting a war.\u201d Sen. Mike Lee said, \u2062 <strong>\u201cI am concerned that U.S. action, like the recent airstrikes on Houthi targets, is starting to \u200cblur the line between defense\u2064 of U.S. forces in the region and unauthorized escalatory offense.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>And,\u200c of course, any \u2063firm American response\u200b <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/RealCandaceO\/status\/1751701038048895275\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">is criticized<\/a> as placating the apparently all-powerful American <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/joe-hoft-from-tgp-presents-at-transform-washington-on-january-6-web-conference-video\/\" title=\"Joe Hoft from TGP Presents at \u201cTransform Washington on January 6\u201d Web conference (VIDEO)\">military-industrial complex<\/a> \u2014 a perspective more in line\u200c with <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/thenation\/status\/1752034373690413296?s=20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">progressive journalists<\/a> than Reagan\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reaganfoundation.org\/ronald-reagan\/reagan-quotes-speeches\/inaugural-address-4\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">\u201cwe will not surrender for peace\u201d<\/a> foreign policy.<\/p>\n<p>These critics\u200b of a forceful\u2064 U.S. response seem to have forgotten Theodore Roosevelt\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/education.nationalgeographic.org\/resource\/big-stick-diplomacy\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Big Stick Diplomacy<\/a>. Instead of\u200c a powerful and decisive defense of American interests, they demand \u200ban approach akin to \u201ctaking my ball and going home,\u201d or an absolutist Monroe Doctrine \u200dthat\u2062 would see America abandon the world and focus entirely on the\u2062 homefront.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-5874c0b439d3a8c334e682ec78e2ce69 fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-6\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-5874c0b439d3a8c334e682ec78e2ce69\"><\/div>\n<p>The bodies \u200bof American soldiers weren\u2019t even back on American soil before the narratives began\u2062 to spin \u2014 <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/JackPosobiec\/status\/1751993134949548389?s=20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">neocons just want a war with Iran at any cost<\/a>.\u200b The\u200d \u201cenlightened\u201d know that America should get out of the Middle East, and\u200c anyone\u2062 saying otherwise should have no platform to speak unless they themselves lead the charge on the battlefield, or <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/ahmadsmohibi\/status\/1752027836058157296?s=20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">send their children<\/a> \u200c to do it in their stead.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Knowing When to Punch Back<\/h2>\n<p>Do these critics have a point? Arguably so. There is, however, an important difference between <br \/>\u201cseeking war at any cost\u201d and being willing to\u200b punch back if you\u2019re attacked; we\u2062 acknowledge this difference\u2062 in our own laws, allowing that justified self-defense is a\u2062 reasonable legal defense. Why do\u2062 some believe this is different when the\u2064 aggressor is a foreign enemy? Can there be doubt that the \u2064same who \u200dwould avoid conflict\u2062 even at the cost of American lives would be quick to support their own right \u200dto self-defense if it were themselves or their family in harm\u2019s \u2064way?<\/p>\n<p>The truth is that why and how we found ourselves \u200din these areas is immaterial, and our mere <em>invited<\/em> presence in another nation\u2062 does not\u200c constitute aggression on the part of America.<\/p>\n<p>The question at hand is if America \u2063is seen as taking the lives of her service people seriously, and\u2064 whether we take being viewed as a nation that is willing \u200cto\u2062 fight back when its people are attacked.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-bb7413d10b0664c8e80862cabc556aaa fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-10\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-bb7413d10b0664c8e80862cabc556aaa\"><\/div>\n<p>Supporters of Donald Trump especially are placed\u2062 in a predicament by their\u2064 stances on this issue, as during his time as president, Trump showed no compunction about\u2063 using the threat of\u200b force against America\u2019s enemies as he did with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/politics\/white-house\/trump-un-north-korean-leader-suicide-mission-n802596#:~:text=%22Rocket%20man%20is%20on%20a,to%20totally%20destroy%20North%20Korea.%22\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">North Korea<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2020\/sep\/15\/trump-iran-retaliate-1000-times-greater-force\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Iran<\/a>, \u2062as\u200d well as actual use of force best exemplified by his administration\u2019s decision to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/d9\/2023-04\/2020-03-10_soleimani_airstrike_redacted_2021.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">kill\u2064 Iranian Quds Force commander Qasem\u200b Soleimani<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Indeed, \u200cTrump\u2019s policy with regard \u200cto enemies of the United States was one of absolute pressure. It\u200b is precisely that approach that deters open season on American forces overseas.<\/p>\n<p>Like it \u200dor\u2064 not,\u2064 a United\u200b States that looks weak to \u2063the world is\u200d a weak United \u200bStates. If we come \u200dto be viewed as a nation that is too afraid of risking\u2063 potential war to defend our soldiers when directly attacked, \u2062our enemies will notice \u200dand\u200c will continue to\u2064 bully us on the world stage.<\/p>\n<p>America should\u200d not\u2062 be a land that seeks out war, but we\u2062 must be a land that returns kind with kind. \u2062As <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/josh_hammer\/status\/1751734108261064840\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Josh\u200d Hammer said<\/a>, <strong>\u201cAmerica\u2064 First\u201d does \u200dnot mean \u2064allowing America\u2019s uniformed men serving overseas to be killed and maimed by a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/netanyahu-to-americans-on-downright-dangerous-iran-deal-have-we-learned-nothing\/\" title=\"Netanyahu to Americans on \u2018Downright Dangerous\u2019 Iran Deal: \u2018Have We Learned Nothing?\u2019\">rogue terrorist regime<\/a> without\u2062 facing any repercussions.\u201d<\/strong> \u2062Indeed, such behavior is America Last.<\/p>\n<p>If our soldiers \u2064cannot have\u2064 safety abroad\u2064 from terrorists, how long can we expect our citizenry to have safety at home? Trump has seemed to understand this truth, and it\u2019s time for the Republican Party to understand\u2062 it as well.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-222fd2e4890e4c7b798b99290faddbdc fdrlst__b89e9-after-post-content\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-222fd2e4890e4c7b798b99290faddbdc\"><\/div>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\">\n<\/div>\n<p> <\/p>\n<h2> How are supporters of\u2064 Donald Trump grappling with their\u200b stance on further military\u2064 engagement in the Middle East, considering his previous use \u2063of force against America&#8217;s enemies during his presidency<\/h2>\n<p><span>  Urder-of-american-troops-n877316&#8243; target=&#8221;_blank&#8221; rel=&#8221;noreferrer\u2062 noopener&#8221;>North \u200bKorea<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/news\/2020\/01\/02\/trump-tweets-backing-iran-protesters-093118\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Iran<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/edition.cnn.com\/2017\/04\/13\/politics\/trump-military-action-syria\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Syria<\/a>. However, with the recent events in Jordan, the fracture within the\u200c Republican Party has become more pronounced, as some supporters of Trump question\u200b the necessity of further military engagement in the Middle East.<\/p>\n<p>The debate between\u2062 those advocating for an active \u200dAmerican role \u2063in international relations through &#8220;power projection&#8221; and those advocating for a more \u2064isolationist approach is not a new one. However, the tragic murder of three American soldiers in Jordan has \u2064reignited\u2063 this divide within the Republican Party. Following the strike, some Republican members of\u200d Congress\u200d called for a direct strike on targets in Iran and its leadership, while others, like Tucker Carlson, dismissed this perspective as extreme.<\/p>\n<p>There is a growing and vocal faction within the right who believe that the best solution to protect \u2062American forces overseas is to completely\u2064 withdraw from the world. They argue that responding to attacks on Americans is equivalent to &#8220;starting a war&#8221; and criticize\u2062 any firm American response \u2062as appeasing\u200d the \u200bmilitary-industrial complex. These critics seem \u200bto forget the principles of Theodore Roosevelt&#8217;s Big Stick\u2064 Diplomacy and instead advocate\u200c for \u200can isolationist approach \u200dthat would see America turn \u200cits back on \u2064the world.<\/p>\n<p>The narratives surrounding the incident in Jordan have already begun to spin, with some claiming\u2063 that neoconservatives only want a war with Iran at any\u2062 cost. Those advocating for a\u200c continued American presence in the Middle \u2063East are often labeled as\u2062 warmongers who should have no platform to speak. However, there is an important distinction between seeking war at any cost and being willing\u200c to defend oneself\u200d when\u200b attacked. Self-defense is considered a reasonable legal defense within our own laws, so\u200b why should it be different when the aggressor is a foreign enemy?<\/p>\n<p>The question at hand is whether America is seen as taking the \u2063lives of its service members seriously \u200dand whether it is viewed as\u200c a nation that is willing to fight back when its\u200b people are attacked. The debate should not focus on why and\u200b how America found itself in these areas but rather on the principle of \u200cself-defense and the need to\u200d protect American lives.<\/p>\n<p>Supporters of Donald Trump, in particular, find themselves \u2062in \u200ca predicament regarding their stance\u200d on this issue. While Trump showed no qualms about using force against America&#8217;s enemies during \u2063his presidency,\u2063 some of his supporters question the necessity of further military engagement in the Middle East. However, it is vital to remember that the decision to defend American interests \u2064and take action against\u200b those who \u2063threaten American lives should not be clouded by political affiliations. It should\u200d be based on the principle of protecting American lives \u200band <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/israeli-military-destroys-house-of-senior-hamas-leader-in-west-bank\/\" title=\"Israeli military demolishes Hamas leader's house in West Bank.\">deterring future acts<\/a> of aggression.<\/p>\n<p>In conclusion, the fracture within the Republican Party over the issue of an\u2064 active American role in international relations has been laid bare \u2062once again in the aftermath of the tragic murder of three American soldiers in Jordan. The divide between those\u200c advocating for a proactive approach and those leaning towards isolationism \u200dhas intensified, with critics of forceful\u200b U.S. engagement forgetting the\u2064 principles of self-defense and the need to protect American lives. It is important to base the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/listen-elon-musk-presses-robinhood-ceo-about-gamestop-fiasco-restricted-trading\/\" title=\"LISTEN: Elon Musk Presses Robinhood CEO About GameStop Fiasco, Restricted Trading\">decision-making process<\/a> on \u200cthe\u200c principle of defending American interests and deterring aggression, rather than\u200c on\u2064 political affiliations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A more cautious approach in international affairs. The recent incident highlights the ongoing division within the Republican Party, with some supporting an assertive American presence abroad, while others argue for a more restrained approach. The murder of three soldiers by Iranian proxies in Jordan has reignited this debate<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2832,"featured_media":2167817,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Screen-Shot-2024-02-04-at-8.51.39-PM.png","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2167816","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Screen-Shot-2024-02-04-at-8.51.39-PM.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2167816","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2832"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2167816"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2167816\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2167817"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2167816"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2167816"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2167816"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}