Why are Republicans turning a blind eye to President-Elect Trump's Defense Secretary nominee retired General James Mattis' anti-Israel views?
This has been bothering me for weeks.
Republicans have been righteous in their criticism of the Obama Administration's anti-Israel views as demonstrated by their strong disapproval of the U.S. abstention in the recent UN Security Council vote on Israeli settlements and Secretary of State John Kerry's defense of that action.
Kerry's animus to Israel is well known. In April 2014, Kerry said Israel could become "an Apartheid state". That didn't sit well with Republicans like Ted Cruz who called upon Kerry to resign.
Yet nearly a year earlier General Mattis invoked the term Apartheid when it came to Israel. To date, Ted Cruz has raised no concerns about Mattis' anti-Israel views. Mind you this is the Ted Cruz that nearly derailed Obama's appointment of Chuck Hagel for the same post because of his anti-Israel views. Instead, Cruz looks forward to supporting his nomination.
What makes it even more difficult to rationalize Republican silence on Mattis is his support of the Iran nuclear deal.
Had President Obama appointed Mattis to be Secretary of Defense does anyone doubt for a moment that Republicans would be opposing his nomination tooth and nail? But when Donald Trump says jump, Republicans ask, "How high?"
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