Sunday Snapshot: Washington wary of wider Middle East war
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Smoke rises above Beirut's southern suburbs during an Israeli strike on Sept. 27. A source close to Hezbollah said the massive Israeli strikes on Beirut's southern suburbs flattened six buildings. Photo: AFP via Getty Images
Tensions in the Middle East following the death of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah are spiraling and tipping toward what the Biden administration has feared for months: a broader regional war.
Here's what you may have missed when newsmakers hit the airwaves this Sunday, September 29.
1. Cotton dismisses Middle East ceasefire
Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) said it isn't the right time for Israel to broker a ceasefire, taking a stance at odds with efforts by the Biden administration and several U.S. allies to halt the fighting.
What he's saying: "Hezbollah is on its knees," Cotton said on CBS News' "Face the Nation. "The United States should help Israel drive Hezbollah to the mat and choke it out and finish it off once and for all."
- He called for the U.S. to "let Israel win rather than continue to make these feckless demands for ceasefires and de-escalation."
- Cotton added he'd support an Israeli ground invasion into Lebanon if "that's what Israel needs to do to eliminate the remnants of Hezbollah's leadership and arsenal."
The big picture: The proposed 21-day ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah would allow a pause for negotiations in the escalating conflict, where hundreds have reportedly been killed in just days.
- Thousands in Gaza and Lebanon have been killed in Israeli strikes in nearly a year since Hamas' brutal Oct. 7 attack that killed 1,200.
Retired Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal, who served as the head of U.S. and international forces in Afghanistan, offered a word of caution when asked about Cotton's suggestion: "Just spiraling the violence is unlikely to produce a good outcome."
- But he added: "I can sympathize with both sides, the visceral desire to go after the other."
- As Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu continues to wage war against Iranian proxies with mounting civilian casualties, McChrystal noted, "The long-term outcome in Palestine writ large is going to be from a statesman-like view."
- He continued: "If he's [Netanyahu] taking a wartime view only, I think at some point he's either going to have to widen that aperture or take a longer view of it."
National Security spokesman John Kirby said Sunday on CNN's "State of the Union" that there "needs to be an effort to de-escalate."
- He noted, "Hezbollah under Mr. Nasrallah was a lethal threat to the Israeli people — they want to get their families back to those homes and kibbutzes in the north," but said the U.S. believes "an all-out war with Hezbollah, certainly with Iran, is not the way to do that."
Zoom out: Asked by CNN's Jake Tapper about a possible ground incursion into Lebanon, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) called for normalization between Israel and Saudi Arabia — a cause he has continuously advocated for — saying, "Without some diplomatic solution, Israel is going to be occupying parts ... of Lebanon to create a buffer zone."
- He added: "That to me is not the outcome I desire."
2. The GOP's new ICE talking point
Several Republicans making the Sunday show rounds brought up the same talking point when asked about the border — that hundreds of thousands of migrants have committed crimes while President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have been in office.
Why it matters: The data the GOP members are referencing was released last week by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-Texas).
- The statistics span decades, including the Trump administration years, and some of the individuals counted are serving prison sentences, not living freely.
What they're saying: "400,000 people have been let loose in our country, 16,000 people convicted of being a rapist, 13,000 convicted murderers and 400,000 people generally convicted of crimes were released on her watch," Graham said on "State of the Union," before being fact-checked by CNN anchor Jake Tapper about the data.
- Cotton cited the same numbers during his appearance on "Face the Nation," telling CBS's Robert Costa, claiming the administration "acknowledged" it "released more than 13,000 convicted murderers" and other criminals "who Kamala Harris and Joe Biden have let roam our streets."
- Donald Trump Jr., the former president's eldest son, accused Harris of "literally letting in 16,000 rapists across the border that she was in charge of. 13,000 murderers as part of the millions of people they've let into this country unchecked" during his appearance on Fox News' "Sunday Morning Futures."
And then there's Trump, who took to Truth Social Friday, the same day Harris visited the border, to slam her record on immigration using the data: "Kamala should immediately cancel her News Conference because it was just revealed that 13,000 convicted murderers entered our Country during her three and a half year period as Border Czar."
Between the lines: Despite Republican claims, Harris was never appointed to be in charge of the border or its security. Biden appointed her to lead diplomatic efforts related to immigration, including meeting officials from Central American countries to work on solutions to ease migration to the U.S.
Worth noting: CNN fact-checker Daniel Dale writes that the "non-detained" list includes people who are behind bars serving criminal sentences but are not being held in "immigration detention in particular," meaning criminals are not necessarily being allowed to "openly roam" the country (as Trump said).
- However, the total number on the non-detained docket — including those not convicted of any crimes — CNN notes, did spike under the Biden administration.
3. Another GOP endorsement for Harris
Jeff Flake, the former Arizona senator and U.S. Ambassador to Turkey, is the latest GOP member to endorse Harris.
Driving the news: Flake didn't call Trump by name when explaining his reasoning in an appearance on ABC News' "This Week" but said he couldn't endorse a candidate who "tries to use the powers of the presidency to overturn" an election.
- He said he thought Republicans "believe in the rule of law in particular" and that overturning an election is "anything but respect for the rule of law."
- Flake also highlighted the former president's tariff policy as going against conservative viewpoints on free trade.
Zoom out: Given Flake's connection to a border state, ABC News' Martha Raddatz pressed the former senator on his views about Harris' immigration policies.
- Flake conceded Harris could be tougher on the border "particularly with asylum policies."
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