[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 197 (Thursday, November 30, 2023)]
[House]
[Pages H5987-H5988]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    REALITIES AND NECESSITIES OF WAR

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
California (Mr. McClintock) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. McCLINTOCK. Mr. Speaker, the attack on Israel by Hamas on October 
7 was an unprovoked act of barbarity and butchery that targeted 
innocent civilians and broke every rule of war dating back to medieval 
times.
  The sinister nature of this attack and the genocidal character of the 
government behind it should shock the conscience of every man and woman 
of good will on this planet.
  As the Nazis were systemically murdering 6 million Jews, the 
civilized nations of the world took up arms in defense of the 
defenseless, annihilated the scourge of Hitler and Hitlerism, and vowed 
to never allow such crimes to be permitted again.
  To assure this objective, these United Nations restored the Jewish 
state to the Jewish homeland, whose roots in Israel trace back to the 
dawn of human history.
  Never again. Israel exists today to maintain and uphold that sacred 
vow of mankind.
  Never again. The generation that survived those times knew how vital 
that declaration is and how essential the existence of Israel is to 
fulfill it.
  Yet, the genocidal hatred that produced the Holocaust was never 
completely extinguished. It has now morphed into a more virulent strain 
of Nazism that came on full display on October 7. Shockingly, we are 
seeing support for that ideology in the riots unfolding on our streets 
and on our campuses, and it has even seeped into the Halls of Congress.
  Now, I oppose punishing anyone for their opinions, even vicious 
opinions, but they should be denounced at every opportunity, and the 
destructive policies they advocate should be decisively defeated; which 
brings me to the folly of the Biden administration.
  Now, Hamas is the popularly elected government of Gaza. When it 
attacked, Israel responded the only way it morally could, by waging war 
with all of its might and resources.
  Gaza was not provoked by Israel. Quite the contrary: In 2006, Israel 
granted the people of Gaza the right of self-government, and they 
promptly responded by electing Hamas. Last week, a poll of Palestinians 
found overwhelming support for that government and the atrocities that 
it has committed. There is no moral equivalency here. Israel has 
practiced tolerance toward all its Arab neighbors while Hamas is 
dedicated to the annihilation of Israel.
  War is hell on Earth. A nation forced into it has a moral obligation 
to put all of its resources behind its soldiers and to achieve 
unconditional victory as quickly as possible, and then to resolutely 
destroy the government and culture that unleashed it.
  The demands for a cease-fire by the Biden administration, the 
provision of so-called humanitarian aid to Hamas-controlled Gaza, and 
demands for proportionality are utterly self-destructive to all 
involved because their practical effect is to prolong the conflict 
indefinitely.
  In war, you don't want a proportional response; you want the most 
disproportional response you can muster. The more disproportional it 
is, the sooner it is ended.
  Humanitarian aid is what you send after the enemy has unconditionally 
surrendered and not a moment before. Can you imagine sending food and 
fuel into Nazi Germany during World War II? That is lunacy.
  The fountainhead of this problem is Iran. It is funding the most 
extensive terrorist network in history. The sanctions against Iran were 
producing a growing popular resistance to that regime, yet each time it 
was about to boil over, Obama, and later Biden, took billions of 
dollars owned by the Iranian people and instead turned it over to their 
oppressors in Iran.
  Biden's refusal to enforce sanctions has meant an estimated $30 
billion of revenues to Iran. It was about to release another $6 billion 
when the attack on Israel embarrassed them into temporarily backing 
down.
  When President Biden releases money to Iran or relaxes sanctions, he 
is funding the very terrorist operations unleashed against Israel. When 
he

[[Page H5988]]

leaves our borders wide-open, he is creating an open pathway for 
terrorists into our country. When he sends aid to Hamas-controlled 
Gaza, he gives aid and comfort to the very forces that unleashed such 
terror upon Israel and aspire to unleash it against America.
  For our own sake, and for the sake of humanity, America must stand 
unconditionally with Israel, cutting off any resources to its 
adversaries and providing the arms, ammunition, and moral support it 
desperately needs.
  This is the only way to restore the full force of civilization behind 
these two sacred words ``never again.''

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