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Media Debate Moderators Pushed Vance, Walz to Back a U.S.-Israeli Strike Against Iran

Debate Moderators Norah O'Donnell and Margaret Brennan. Credit: C-SPAN

Perhaps the most significant moment, from a strategic standpoint, in the entire Oct. 1 debate between Vice Presidential candidates J.D. Vance and Tim Walz, came at the very outset, when CBS co-moderator Margaret Brennan tried to line up both candidates behind London’s policy of orchestrating a joint U.S.-Israeli strike against Iran’s nuclear program.

“Earlier today,” Brennan began, “Iran launched its largest attack yet on Israel. But that attack failed thanks to joint U.S. and Israeli defensive action. President Biden has deployed more than 40,000 U.S. military personnel and assets to that region over the past year to try to prevent a regional war. Iran is weakened, but the U.S. still considers it the largest state sponsor of terrorism in the world, and it has drastically reduced the time it would take to develop a nuclear weapon. It is down now to one or two weeks time. Governor Walz, if you are the final voice in the situation room, would you support or oppose a preemptive strike by Israel on Iran?”

Walz stated that the whole problem began with the Oct. 7 Hamas raid into Israel; he then attacked Trump’s foreign policy; and he concluded: “And as the Vice President (Harris) said today, is we will protect our forces and our allied forces, and there will be consequences.”

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