ICYMI: Chair Emeritus McCaul on ABC's "This Week"
WASHINGTON – U.S. Congressman Michael McCaul (R-Texas) — chairman emeritus of the House Foreign Affairs and Homeland Security Committees — joined Martha Raddatz on ABC's "This Week" to discuss the latest on Ukraine, Israel's strike in Qatar, and his future plans
Excerpts from the interview:
On Russia's violation of Polish airspace: "I think Putin is testing the resolve of NATO. He wants to see how NATO reacts, how Poland reacts. The good news is Poland had a great response. They shot [several of Russia's drones] down. But it shows you how aggressive Putin is getting in the region. Not only the drones, but these war game exercises with Belarus right on the NATO border, the Baltic States. The nuclear bombers that flew to Poland, close to their airspace, and then these strikes up in the Arctic. He's really putting the pressure on right now."
On NATO moving air defenses to the eastern flank and Putin's next moves: "I think it's a response to Putin's aggression. Putin is the one responsible for this. And so, it's called Eastern Sentry. That means the prepositioning of assets, relocation of military assets to the eastern flank of NATO right on the border. We've never seen anything like this in recent times. And so, what I'm concerned about is that the escalation here and the temperature rising, we got to be very careful not to be on the precipice of a World War III.
"I think [Putin will] continue to be provocative and saber-rattle. ... What we need to do is negotiate out of strength. ... You know, the more Putin irritates the president, I think the better we are in terms of defending NATO and Ukraine."
On Israel's strike in Qatar: "As the president said, this does not serve the interest of the United States or Israel well long term. And what do I mean by that? I think normalization is where we want to be at the end of the day. The more we inflame the Arab world, the less likely that normalization process. What do I mean by that? I mean, peace with Israel, Abraham Accords."
On visiting Ground Zero for 9/11 and his future plans: "I was up there in New York [this weekend] for that powerful ceremony. [The 9/11 attack] changed my life and many others. I became a counterterrorism federal prosecutor within the Justice Department. I entered Congress. I chaired the Homeland Security Committee, [where] I saw the rise of ISIS and the caliphate. As chairman of Foreign Affairs, I saw Afghanistan fall and Putin invade Ukraine and the Middle East on fire, and then the threat from Chairman Xi and China in the Indo-Pacific.
"It's been an honor to serve for over two decades in the Congress. I'm looking now for a new challenge. I'm going to serve the remainder of my term, but I'm looking for a new challenge in the same space — that would be national security and foreign policy, but just in a different realm. But I want to continue to serve the people of this country in national security and foreign policy and do what I've done in the last two decades: make America stronger and the world safer."
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