Wilkie and Kaufman Speak to Newsmax About Russia and Iran’s Attempts to Be a ‘Counterweight’ to the US

Former Under Secretary of Defense Robert Wilkie and author Uri Kaufman told Newsmax Thursday that Russia and Iran are seeking to be a “counterweight” to the United States and that the Biden administration’s feckless foreign policy is allowing it to happen.

During an appearance on Newsmax’s “American Agenda,” Wilkie said Russia is seeking to make inroads with Iran because it has been largely shunned on the world stage.

“It’s a pariah nation looking for other pariah nations, which is why you have the axis with China and Iran. And then part of this is a result of the fecklessness of the Biden administration, its inability to back our allies in the region,” Wilkie said.

“They see an administration that has allowed now over 70 attacks on American forces, and the only response is to blow up ammunition dumps in the middle of the morning in the middle of the desert when no one is around. So that is what is spurring this.

“Of course, [Russian President Vladimir] Putin is also desperate for allies. I do agree with [Newsmax foreign correspondent] Alex [Salvi] that the Saudis would very much want the Israelis to eliminate Hamas. And if they don’t want to stop there, they would be happy if they eliminated Hezbollah as well.”

Kaufman, whose book about the Yom Kippur War, “Eighteen Days in October,” was released in August, said “there’s no question that all of that is true” and added that “what we’re seeing today is the consequences of the Iran deal.”

“The core bargain of the Iran deal was Iran gets to be a part of the family of nations — no sanctions, even though it is turning the region upside down — as long as they make certain minor concessions with respect to their nuclear program,” Kaufman said. “Back in 2006, Mohammad Khatami, the president of Iran, a relative moderate, said to a high Syrian official, ‘In 20 years, in 2026, we’re going to be the counterweight to the United States.’

“What they do is they go into all these areas where there’s a political vacuum — whether it’s Syria, Yemen, Lebanon, Iraq — they indoctrinate the children. And then a generation later you’ve got a bunch of crazed, frankly, Islamo-Nazis. And that’s what we’re seeing today roiling the region, whether it’s Gaza, whether it’s Lebanon, whether it’s Yemen with the Houthis,” he continued. “We’re seeing the consequences of that now. This is not the time to give Iran $6 billion.”

Last week, House lawmakers passed a bill by a 307-119 vote to force the Biden administration to permanently freeze the $6 billion that it released to Iran in exchange for five American prisoners.

The Hill reported that 90 Democrats joined with nearly all Republicans to pass the bill, which was introduced by Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

Those who voted against the measure included 118 Democrats and a lone Republican, Rep. Thomas Massie, of Kentucky.

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