Democrats Rip Into Ted Cruz For His Criticism Of Obama's Israel Policy
Democrats were quick to rebut Republican Sen. Ted Cruz's criticism of President Barack Obama's policies toward Israel and Iran, which he delivered Wednesday evening during a stop on his first high-profile overseas trip.
Cruz's comments, which he made on a conference call with reporters, came the same day as President Barack Obama gave a major foreign policy speech at West Point. In addition to criticizing the Obama administration's relationship with Israel, Cruz offered a contrasting path for the the peace process and the Iranian nuclear talks.
Democratic National Committee spokesman Michael Czin quickly fired back with an email to Business Insider, wherein he argued a theoretical Cruz presidency would only repeat the mistakes of past Republican administrations. Czin also said the Obama administration has helped keep Israel safe and "more secure," despite regional threats from Iran and Syria.
"Senator Cruz must long for the days when an American president rushed to war and asked questions later," Czin said.
"The Obama administration implemented the toughest sanctions in Iran's history that first brought Iran to its knees and then to the negotiating table. Under President Obama, the U.S. has provided record-high levels of security assistance funding and Israel's Prime Minister Netanyahu just credited the Obama administration for their efforts to rid chemical weapons from Syria. Today, Israel is safer and more secure as a result of the Obama administration's efforts."
Cruz met with more than a dozen senior leaders during his two-day trip to Israel on Monday and Tuesday, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He was in Ukraine and Estonia Wednesday and will travel to Poland on Thursday. The trip has continued to fuel speculation of a potential Cruz run for president in 2016.
On his conference call with reporters, Cruz described Obama's Mideast policy as being too friendly to America's "enemies."
"There's been a tendency with this administration to alienate and abandon our allies and to accommodate and appease enemies and those who are antagonistic to us," Cruz said.