While criticizing President Joe Biden for pausing one delivery of bombs to Israel as Israel planned an invasion of the city of Rafah in Gaza (where 1.4 million have been sheltering), U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) mentioned the use of nuclear weapons.
On Meet the Press, Graham said: “Why is it okay for America to drop two nuclear bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki to end their existential threat war? Why is it okay for us to do that? I thought it was okay.” He raised his voice and added, “To Israel, do whatever you need to do to survive as a Jewish state! Whatever you have to do!”
MAGA U.S. Representative Greg Murphy (R-SC) echoed the opinion of U.S. Graham on Tuesday, when Murphy suggested Israel would be justified in nuking Gaza just as, he said, the U.S. was justified in using atomic weapons in Japan.
During an interview with Newsmax, Murphy said: “If you look at what Imperial Japan did to the United States, we came back and said basically you’re gonna have to unconditionally surrender. And when they didn’t, we had to drop two atomic bombs on them.” He added, “This is where Israel has every single right in the world to press this conflict further, to eliminate Hamas in whatever means they need necessary.”
There are some incredibly irresponsible people out there. Here’s one making a very poor comparison between US nuking Japan in World War II and Israel’s options in Gaza. From the Kremlin to Congress, people are getting a little lax about that nuke thing! https://t.co/6v9yR4E20g
— Hans Kristensen (@nukestrat) May 14, 2024
Hans Kristensen, Director of the Nuclear Information Project at the Federation of American Scientists in Washington, DC, responded to Murphy’s comments: “There are some incredibly irresponsible people out there. Here’s one making a very poor comparison between US nuking Japan in World War II and Israel’s options in Gaza. From the Kremlin to Congress, people are getting a little lax about that nuke thing!”
Nine countries are believed to possess nuclear weapons: the United States, Russia, France, China, the United Kingdom, Pakistan, India, Israel, and North Korea. The “global nuclear stockpile is close to 13,000 weapons,” according to the Union of Concerned Scientists, an international group whose mission is to put “rigorous, independent science into action, developing solutions and advocating for a healthy, safe, and just future.”