Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, told Newsmax on Thursday that the volatile situation in the Middle East is due to the Biden administration "projecting weakness" on the world stage.
"It's a threat because when you project weakness in the Middle East, you get this kind of aggression," McCaul said during an appearance on Newsmax's "The Record with Greta Van Susteren." "And, to your point in the Red Sea, we've had commercial vessels shot down in the Red Sea. This is causing a 450% increase in shipping costs that will add to inflation, add to energy crisis, and it's so irresponsible but so dangerous."
When asked what he thinks needs to happen to quell the instability in the region, McCaul, who chairs the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said the United States needs to be "projecting strength."
"I think this administration has projected weakness, and what I worry about, Greta, is that the risk that is now in the Red Sea and also with our men and women in uniform in Iraq and Syria are at risk, and the risk of miscalculation and escalation is going way up," he said.
"It's just a matter of time before the Houthi rebels or some Iran-backed militia kills an American soldier or shoots down an American ship. And then what? That is what I worry about is the escalation of tension in the Middle East."
McCaul also said that the situation reminds him of Afghanistan and the conditions leading up to the chaotic U.S. withdrawal after a 20-year presence in the country following the terror attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.
"When Afghanistan imploded, guess what happened?" he asked. "We were projecting weakness, just like [former British Prime Minister Neville] Chamberlain and [Nazi leader Adolf] Hitler back in the late 1930s and weakness invites aggression. So, guess what happened? [Russian President Vladimir] Putin saw weakness.
"Russian Federation goes towards Ukraine and Europe; [Chinese] Chairman Xi's looking at Taiwan, which is very vulnerable today; and the [Iranian] ayatollah lights up and his Iranian proxies light up in the Middle East.
"This presidency has actually manufactured or created one of the most dangerous environments, quite frankly, Greta, since my father's war, World War II, the biggest threat to Europe, the Pacific, and the Middle East," he added.
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