On Monday’s broadcast of CNN’s “OutFront,” Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE) discussed Iran and said that “the president makes these big threats, and then he walks it back and it just goes back and forth” And Iran believes the president “wants a peace. He’s worried about gas prices. He’s worried about the elections. So, they think they can abuse him or they can out-negotiate him and drag him along.” He also said that strong, repeated, continuous bombardment “right in the power centers and go after the leadership, the party centers, the areas that help that regime maintain its power” is the way forward.
Bacon said, “I would recommend that he speak softly and carry a big stick. Iran has targeted Americans for 47 years. They killed 1,000 Americans or so. I served in Iraq, where 608 Americans were killed by Iranian militias. I lost a friend at Khobar Towers. This has been long overdue. But the way the president’s fought this, he comes in hard, then soft, hard and soft. And I think we’re better off just keeping maximum pressure on and saying less and waiting for the Iranians to come forward and say, okay, we’re done, we want a peace. But the president makes these big threats, and then he walks it back and it just goes back and forth. I think he would be much more effective, keep maximum pressure on and say little. That’s what I would encourage him to do.”
He added, “I think early on, and then it’s been sort of reinforced, I think the Iranians see that the president wants a peace more than they do, that he hit them hard for a month, a little over a month, and then he said, okay, let’s make a deal. When they heard that let’s make a deal, I believe the Iranians — and I studied them most of my life when I was in the Air Force, I’ve been facing off and deployed facing these guys multiple times — but I think they hear this and they think, he wants a peace. He’s worried about gas prices. He’s worried about the elections. So, they think they can abuse him or they can out-negotiate him and drag him along.”
Bacon continued, “And that’s — I think he would be so much better off if he hit them hard in Tehran in the middle — right in the power centers and go after the leadership, the party centers, the areas that help that regime maintain its power and hit those areas hard, repeatedly, continuously, until they say, okay, you know what? America is serious, and if we don’t stop this now, we’re going to lose our power. We’ve got to get them in that position where they lose hope that they can beat this president. And right now, I believe they think they can drag him along. And Teddy Roosevelt had it right, speak softly and carry a big stick.”
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