McConnell Wants President to Address Israel/Gaza, ISIL at White House Meeting

Statement

U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell made the following remarks on the Senate Floor today regarding the President's national security policy and the White House meeting today:

"Recently I've expressed deep concern that the President has pursued a foreign policy based on withdrawing from America's forward presence and alliance commitments, hollowing out our nation's conventional military forces, placing an overreliance upon personal diplomacy and international organizations, and abandoning the war on terror. I believe this will leave his successor to deal with a more dangerous world, and with fewer tools to meet the threats.

"Later this morning, several members of Congress charged with leading national security committees and policymaking will meet with President Obama to discuss national security. I don't expect the President to brief us on his plan for rebuilding the military, especially in a way that would allow us to meet our commitments in Europe and the Middle East, or that would allow for an effective strategic pivot to Asia. Nor do I expect the President to lay out for us his plans to provide the intelligence community with all the tools it will need to deal with the threat of international terrorism from Al Qaeda and its affiliated groups over the next decade.

"Those are strategic threats best addressed by integrating all the tools of our nation's power and, candidly, it would require the President to revisit the policy stances he took as a candidate in 2008.

"I do hope, at a minimum, that the President will discuss two near term issues. First, I hope he will explain his plan or efforts to assist the Israelis in demilitarizing Gaza and ensuring that Hamas is not left with the ability to launch indirect fire attacks against the civilian populace or to infiltrate Israel through tunnels. In coordination with Israel, we can assist the Palestinian Authority with any programs to assume responsibility for monitoring access points into Gaza. Absent any active efforts by the Administration, I would at least like assurances that the President is not working to impose a ceasefire upon Israel that is harmful to the objectives of the current military campaign.

"Second, earlier this month a group of Republican Senators wrote to the President imploring him to craft a plan for containing the threat posed to Iraq and Jordan by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. Specifically, we asked the President to deploy an assessment team to Jordan to develop a plan to prevent the spread of ISIL in a way that threatened our ally Jordan. Although Ambassador Susan Rice responded to our letter, her answer did not address how the administration intends to combat ISIL.

"Instead, Ambassador Rice renewed the administration's request for a new Counterterrorism Partnership Fund. To this point, the administration has failed to provide the Congress with any plan for how this new Counterterrorism Fund would assist our allies, further our own interests, or train and equip a moderate opposition within Syria. That would be a good starting point for today's discussion with the President."

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