Up from nearly a week in the volatile , Middle East,  , U. S.  , Sen.  , Richard Blumenthal , on Monday said the planned implementation of 100 U. S. soldiers to , Israel , is strictly restricted to operating an anti-missile program for the critical long-time ally, as local negotiators try to keep violence from growing and get a deal with , Hamas , to transfer the remaining hostages in , Gaza.
Speaking during a day news conference in the practices of the , Jewish Federation of Greater Hartford, Blumenthal said the visit he and , U. S.  , Sen.  , Lindsey Graham , of , South Carolina , paid to the location last month included critical discussions with not only Israeli Prime Minister , Benjamin Netanyahu, but other local leaders in , Saudi Arabia , and the , United Arab Emirates, in effort to pursue paths for harmony.
” On the whole I am hopeful, but deeply concerned”, Blumenthal said. The trick is to stay away from an escalation at this point.
Blumenthal also warned that former president  , Donald Trump ‘s , remarks on the campaign trail in which he said , U. S.  , troops could be ordered against domestic protesters, would be the unconstitutional tactic of a dangerous autocracy.
” I think there is real hope for peace,” Blumenthal said,” but I am more deeply concerned than ever about the potential widening of this war.” ” I think that , Israel ‘s , success on the battlefield, militarily, needs to be matched by successful diplomacy now to seek cessation of the fighting, return of the hostages, normalizing relations among neighbors in the , Middle East , with , Israel, and of course humanitarian aid: healing and rebuilding”.
Blumenthal said he welcomes the decision by President , Joe Biden , to send crews to operate the Terminal High Altitude Defense shield system to defend against more ballistic missile attacks such as the , Oct. 1 , raids from , Iran , that Israeli officials have vowed to avenge. ” Sending of this air defense system underscores the iron-clad American commitment to , Israel ‘s , defense and its commitment to safeguard American civilians there as well as , Israel , civilians in the face of the threat of continued missile attacks by , Iran”, he said. ” It is to defend , Israel , against any additional missile attacks, which reaped some of their targets during the last barrage. It is defensive only. It sends a signal that America will be there for , Israel. It will have  , Israel ‘s , back against attack by , Iran”.
Meanwhile, he stressed the need for diplomacy to continue.
” The potential is there for normalizing relations between , Israel , and , Saudi Arabia, just as was done between , Israel , and , U. A. E.  , in the Abraham Accords of 2020″, when the emirates and , Bahrain , recognized , Israel , as a sovereign country, he said, adding that he urged leaders that it should be used as a path” to cessation of fighting, return of the hostages, normalizing relations and increased humanitarian aid. In the interim, my hope is that the number of civilian casualties will be decreased, as I promised to the prime ministers, and that the return of the hostages should be emphasized as a goal. The possibility of the war now expanding is so troubling that I believe the deployment of this air defense system should be seen as a pledge to defend Israel and to deter Iran from expanding the conflict.
Blumenthal said the Saudi officials who expressed interest in joining the Abraham Accords encouraged him, and that the bipartisan trip’s return on Friday would send the message that “diplomacy toward peace” to his congressional colleagues and the Biden administration. ” We ought to make sure that , Israel , and other countries understand that our goal is peace and stability in the region”.
He stressed the need for reducing civilian casualties in , Gaza, where more than 40, 000 people have died in the Israeli military campaign after the , Oct. 7, 2023 , Hamas , attacks on , Israel , that resulted in about 1, 500 dead. About 100 hostages remain in , Hamas , captivity. He is optimistic that the region’s peace will be reached before the year’s end.
David Waren, president of the , Jewish Federation of Greater Hartford, who attended Blumenthat’s news conference, said , Israel , and , Iran , at one time had “very close diplomatic relations and perhaps there’s a opening to free the Iranian people from their autocratic, terroristic government.  , Iran , also is n’t just targeting , Israel.  , Iran , is threatening , Saudi Arabia, the , United Arab Emirates , and other allies of the west and the , U. S.”, Waren said.
Blumenthal said he believes Netanyahu “wants peace as much as anyone” and he is open to more negotiations, but has to continue military maneuvers against , Hamas , in , Gaza , and , Lebanon, where fighters have mixed into the general populace. ” They have to respond to the missile barrage from , Iran”, he said. ” They must in some way respond. We put a weight on the need for a measured response to stop escalation.
With the Israeli Defense Forces now in , Lebanon, there’s added cause for concern, Blumenthal said, adding:” Lebanon , is a country with enormous potential if it’s freed from , Hezbollah”.
” The target in , Lebanon , is , Hezbollah, the target in , Gaza , is , Hamas. It is not the people of , Lebanon , or the Palestinians in , Gaza. It has to be the terrorist organizations that have committed to annihilate , Israel”, he said.
Blumenthal also expressed concern about the possibility of the , Middle East , conflicts making , the United States , targets for lone terrorist, or wider networks of terrorist groups.
On the campaign trail over the weekend , Donald Trump , said he would send , U. S.  , troops against protesters in this country. When asked for a response, Blumenthal claimed that using the military against civilians in this area would be against federal law. The fact that his presidency might involve the use of American military forces against Americans is against fundamental, fundamental legal principles and constitutional guarantees, he said, and it also indicates a potential autocracy that is beyond words dangerous.
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( c ) 2024 The Middletown Press, Conn.
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