On Friday’s broadcast of the Fox News Channel’s “The Story,” Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) said that the Trump administration has stopped short of naming collapsing the regime in Iran as an objective, and “I think that’s because, after the Iraq War, the phrase regime change is radioactive.”
After Cruz advocated for arming the Iranian protesters to pursue the collapse of the Iranian regime, host Martha MacCallum asked, “So, how would you go down that road? We haven’t heard much about that since, in the early days — as you just pointed out — there was this push, that looked like regime change was what was going to happen, and we know Israel said they wanted to, essentially, undermine the regime until it collapsed of its own weight. That’s not where we seem to be right now. So, what’s a practical way to arm the people of Iran against their government? It feels like that moment has passed.”
Cruz answered, “Well, we have the capacity to do that. The CIA has done that in other conflicts, where we’ve armed rebels standing up against enemies of America. We have the capacity to get those weapons — and you’re talking small arms. You’re not talking tanks and bazookas, but the ability to fight back against the IRGC. We have that capability. What hasn’t happened yet is making the decision to use that capability. And, listen, I think the Trump administration articulated military objectives, but they held short of saying the objective was regime collapse. And I think that’s because, after the Iraq War, the phrase regime change is radioactive. I understand that. I thought the Iraq War was a mistake. I opposed the Iraq War. President Trump opposed the Iraq War.”
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