Sullivan denies White House took "eye off the ball" before Hamas attack
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Smoke rises after an Israeli airstrike in Rafah, Gaza, today. Photo: Ali Jadallah/Anadolu via Getty Images
Eight days before Hamas launched the deadliest terrorist attack in Israel's history, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan proclaimed that "the Middle East region is quieter today than it has been in two decades."
Why it matters: Sullivan cautioned in the next sentence that "challenges remain," including tensions between Israelis and Palestinians and the threat from Iran. But the fact that the Hamas attack took the U.S. and Israel by such surprise points to a massive intelligence failure by both countries.
What they're saying: "I made those comments in the context of developments in the wider Middle East region over the last few years," Sullivan told NBC's "Meet the Press," pointing to conflicts in Syria, Yemen, Libya, Iraq, Iranian-backed attacks on Gulf states, and the rise of ISIS.
- "At no point did the Biden administration take its eye off the ball of the threats to Israel," Sullivan stressed.
- "In fact, President Biden saw Prime Minister Netanyahu just weeks before this attack to discuss the security challenges facing the state of Israel."
Other highlights from Sullivan's appearances on the Sunday shows:
- Hostages: Sullivan told CNN's "State of the Union" that the Biden administration does not currently have "pinpoint location information" for where Hamas is holding Americans, but said officials are working closely with Israel on hostage recovery operations.
- Israel's offensive: Sullivan would not directly answer whether the U.S. is satisfied with how Israel is conducting its operation in Gaza, telling ABC's "This Week": "We believe in the protection of civilian life. We believe in the laws of war."
- Civilian evacuations: Sullivan told CBS News' "Face the Nation" that the Biden administration is working "around the clock" to ensure all U.S. citizens in Gaza have safe passage into Egypt, adding that humanitarian aid and passage for innocent Palestinians is also a priority.
- Iran: In the wake of warnings from the Islamic Republic about Israel's ground offensive, Sullivan told "Face the Nation" that the U.S. "can't rule out that Iran would choose to get directly engaged" in the conflict in some way. He said that the U.S. has been "communicating privately with Iran" to deter escalatory action.
