The following is a transcript of an interview with Senator Tom Cotton, Republican of Arkansas, broadcast May 12, 2024.
MARGARET BRENNAN: And we’re back now with Arkansas Republican Senator Tom Cotton. Senator, welcome back to the program.
SEN. TOM COTTON (R-AR): Thank you.
MARGARET BRENNAN: You just heard Secretary Blinken explain administration policy. He claims that Hamas absolutely does not respect international law and that Israel is incompatible with international humanitarian law. But he did not say they were violating arms-sharing agreements. Does this make sense to you?
SEN. COTTON: No, that doesn’t make any sense, Margaret, it seems like a bunch of far-fetched, far-fetched politics. He said it was “reasonable to assess”, he said three or four times it’s like he’s been trained to say that, like it’s a magic talisman to help them follow the political line they want between the pro-Hamas wing of their party and the vast pro-Israeli majority of the American people. The report they released Friday evening, after deadlines for information had expired, was very clear. There is no evidence that Israel is violating international law. All civilian casualties in Gaza are the sole responsibility of Hamas. In fact, Israel probably does more than any other army in history to prevent civilian casualties.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, in fact, it’s said, the U.S. intelligence community notes that security forces in Israel “inflicted harm on civilians in the course of military or security operations potentially using equipment provided by the United States. The United States believes that Israel “could do more to prevent harm to civilians.” But that doesn’t say they don’t do it. He says they can’t, for some reason, come to a clear conclusion…
SEN. COTTON: It says – Secretary Blinken’s – no, Secretary Blinken’s own report says there is no evidence, that they cannot reach that conclusion. Ben Cardin, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, agrees that the report says there is no evidence. In fact, he also claims that Joe Biden was wrong to impose this de facto arms embargo on Israel. Once again, Israel does more than any other army in history, in all likelihood, to prevent civilian casualties. If Hamas did not hide behind and under civilians, there would be no civilian casualties. Besides, if Hamas would simply surrender and return all these hostages, there would be no more civilian suffering in Gaza.
MARGARET BRENNAN: That’s what President Biden is saying as well. But I mean, I know you’re a lawyer, you studied law at Harvard, you were an Army officer, you were deployed to Iraq, Afghanistan. It should worry you when the Israeli Prime Minister himself claims that they have killed more civilians than terrorists. Thousands more civilians than terrorists.
SEN. COTTON: It deeply troubles me that Hamas uses these civilians as human shields, because that is its strategy. Remember, Margaret, remember…
MARGARET BRENNAN: The United States should also do this – but – but at this point, though, given that the United States is supplying billions of dollars in weapons to Israel, should it have a say in how are these weapons used? Because the needle that Blinken seemed to be trying to move here was to say that it was very specifically designed to hold back these big bombs, the 3,500 bombs.
SEN. COTTON: Well, the reason Israel needs these bigger bombs is because Hamas has buried tunnels, or is holding hostages, and its leaders are holed up, deep underground. They could also delay the production of kits that allow so-called dumb bombs to become precision smart bombs.
MARGARET BRENNAN: The JDAM kits they’re looking at.
SEN. COTTON: And – and apparently – and apparently based on the reports this morning, the administration is even saying that it is refusing to release information on the location of senior Hamas leaders and therefore hostages, to include potential hostages Americans, from Israel, to try to force Israel. do not go to Rafah. Think about it, they are…
MARGARET BRENNAN: The White House denies that, and John Kirby said the other day that the United States is sharing intelligence, including the whereabouts of Yahya Sinwar, who has not been killed in the seven months of this war .
SEN. COTTON: It was in the Washington Post with… with four officials who knew him. The Washington Post is like the discussion forum for this administration and the Democratic Party.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Do you think the intelligence community is hiding information from the Israeli military?
(CROSSTALK)
SEN. COTTON: I- I believe- I believe that Joe Biden is ready to do it.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Do you have any evidence of that?
SEN. COTTON: I mean, he imposed – he imposed a de facto arms embargo on Israel and sanctions on the Israelis. Waiting for–
MARGARET BRENNAN: They’re sending weapons this weekend, it’s not an arms embargo.
SEN. COTTON: Meanwhile, he just said last week that he wouldn’t send offensive weapons. We have no idea what he’s going to remember.
(END OF CROSSTALK)
MARGARET BRENNAN: He – it was, like – as we just spoke with – with Secretary Blinken, not a very clear statement in that CNN interview. The Democrats said it. But what Blinken said was that it was just one expedition. Are you saying you don’t believe the Secretary of State when he says that?
SEN. COTTON: Margaret, in March 2022, Tony Blinken came on your show, this same show, and said that the United States would be perfectly fine with seeing fighter jets sent to Ukraine. Joe Biden immediately overturned Tony Blinken’s statement on this show. So what Tony Blinken says on this show cannot be credited as Joe Biden imposes a de facto arms embargo on Israel at the same time as he lets arms embargoes against Iran expire.
MARGARET BRENNAN: You know, $26 billion in emergency funding was just approved by the president. And there is no arms embargo against Israel and there is no blockage on intelligence sharing with Israel. You know.
SEN. COTTON: Joe Biden said last week that he would stop providing offensive weapons that could be used in urban environments. This is the only parameter…
MARGARET BRENNAN: –If they go to Rafah–
SEN. COTTON: –In Gaza. It’s the only place in Gaza. And they have to go to Rafah. Joe Biden’s position is de facto in favor of Hamas’ victory at this point. Israel’s goal is to destroy Hamas, which has committed the worst atrocities against Jews since World War II. Hamas’ goal is to survive. If they do, if Israel does not enter Rafah and destroy Hamas in Rafah, Hamas will survive.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, the Biden administration says they can go to Rafah, that’s how they do it. But I want to ask you a more general question because people like Senator Van Hollen, who will be here, we will talk about the principle, the spirit and the meaning of American law. And you know that previous presidents have withheld military aid from Israel to force changes in behavior. That’s what President Reagan did. This is what President Bush did. Why do you have a problem with President Biden doing this?
SEN. COTTON: Well, first of all, when he talked about the principle and the spirit of American law, it seems to me that they’re not talking about the letter of American law, because Tony’s own report Blinken concluded that they had not violated American law. . Ronald Reagan’s decision to suspend the delivery of fighter jets in the 1980s was completely different from what happened here. Israel is waging a war of survival against a terrorist group that has committed the worst atrocities against Jews since World War II. In the 1980s, an Israeli ambassador was the target of an assassination. Ronald Reagan knew that the pause in fighter jets would not interfere with Israel’s fighting because they had plenty of fighters. He didn’t stop the ammunition. Joe Biden is not sending ammo in the middle of a shooting war, it’s a war of survival. And look at the broader context. Israel knew that Ronald Reagan supported the region and sank half of the Iranian navy. Joe Biden has consistently given Iran hundreds of billions of dollars in sanctions relief that has funded groups like Hamas and Hezbollah.
MARGARET BRENNAN: And you know they dispute that and they still send weapons. But last month, Donald Trump told TIME Magazine: “Bibi Netanyahu was rightly criticized for what happened on October 7.” Do you agree with this assessment? Are you comfortable with any criticism of the Prime Minister?
SEN. COTTON: Well, I think Prime Minister Netanyahu and other senior Israeli leaders have acknowledged that they were responsible for the failures of October 7. And they said, as is Israeli custom, that when this war is over, there will likely be a commission of inquiry to determine exactly what went wrong and ensure that it doesn’t happen again. But President Trump said last night that he would absolutely provide Israel with the weapons it needs to finish the job. This would never have happened under the leadership of President Trump – Trump, it did not happen under his leadership. And if he had been president, this war would probably have already been over with much less civilian suffering in Gaza because he would have supported Israel to the end from the start.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, that’s a debate about counterfactuals for another day, senator, but it’s good to have you here in person. Thank you for your time. We’ll be back right away.
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