PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) – Following her week-long visit to Israel, a local member of Congress said she is concerned the war in the Middle East could escalate.
Republican Jen Kiggans, who is a member of the Armed Services Committee, saw the damage left behind by the Oct. 7 terrorist attack. Kiggans even visited the sight of the music festival where young people were abducted and killed.
“And just to be able to see firsthand the devastation, first of all, from the kibbutz in the south,” Kiggans told 10 On Your side’s Regina Mobley. “And also we went to the site of another music festival. So to see and feel with my own eyes, you know, that devastation that occurred on Oct. 7 and then understanding the fight that Israel is in right now.”
“We also went to the northern part of Israel where they have evacuated many of the local community,” Kiggans continued. “The kibbutz is up there. I’m hearing from the intelligence community, from military leadership, from every day Israelis, that, first of all, they are thankful that the United States has been standing by their side. They are thankful that we sent two aircraft carriers from the Hampton Roads community to be there as a deterrence.”
Kiggans spoke on the House Floor Thursday following her trip.
Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin spoke with Israel Minister of Defense Yaov Gallant last week, assuring Gallant that Israel could count on full U.S. support to defend Israel against Iranian attacks.
However, according to The Washington Post, Austin chided Israel for not giving advance notice of the April 1 hit in Damascus Syria.
Kiggans, when asked about the relationship the Biden administration has with the Netanyahu administration following Austin’s remarks, stated Israel has a right to defend itself.
“Yeah, you know, Israel is its own country, right? So it’s not our place to tell Israel what they can do and what they need to do to defend their own country,” Kiggans said.
With shipping channels at a risk, Kiggans also states that perhaps another carrier should set sail for the Middle East.
“Shipping, yes, always. I mean, we again, the military has their work cut out for them right now,” Kiggans said. “We are concerned that, you know, the impact in some international shipping channels in the Mediterranean and the Red Sea. So the military still has a presence there. I sometimes wonder, you know, if we need aircraft to send an aircraft carrier back, that sign of the military’s might. That is the message we send.”
Global oil and gold prices shot up amid concerns of a growing conflict. Congresswoman Kiggans said peace should always be the goal, but if U.S. troops have to fight, they are prepared.
