Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) made a bizarre connection between Israel’s war on Gaza and the US decision to drop atomic bombs on Japan during World War II, asking Israel to “do whatever you have to do” to finish the military campaign.
Speaking to NBC’s Kristin Welker on Meet the Press Sunday morning, Graham argued that Israel would be justified in executing people in Gaza by comparing the situation to the United States’ war with Japan eight decades ago. He suggested Israel would be right to flatten the Gaza strip—home to 2.2 million Palestinians, half of whom are children—simply because the U.S. did it to Hiroshima and Nagasaki in the 1940s.
Senator Lindsey Graham insisted that the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were “the right decision” by the United States
“So when we were faced with destruction as a nation after Pearl Harbor, fighting the Germans and the Japanese, we decided to end the war by bombing Hiroshima, Nagasaki, with nuclear weapons,” Graham began.
The senator insisted that the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were “the right decision” by the United States. That action ended the war with Japan, but also killed hundreds of thousands of Japanese citizens between the initial blasts and the lethal radiation that followed.
“Give Israel the bombs they need to end the war they can’t afford to lose, and work with them to minimize casualties,” Graham insisted.
Graham’s remarks were so severe that even Welker was taken aback, unsuccessfully seeking to intervene as the senator spoke over her.
“Can I say this?” Graham continued. “Why is it okay for America to drop two nuclear bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki to end their existential threat war? Why is it okay for us to do that? I thought it was okay.”
Graham’s remarks come as Israel looks to be preparing to launch a full-scale invasion of Rafah, which the United Nations and the Biden administration have warned would be disastrous for the 1.4 million Palestinians who are sheltering there. On Sunday, as Graham suggested on national television that Gaza be burned, the United Nations secretary general urged once again to prevent the area from spiraling into all-out devastation.