Liam Conner
The following is a transcript of an interview with Senator Chris Van Hollen, Democrat of Maryland, which aired on May 12, 2024.
MARGARET BRENNAN: And now to Maryland Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen. Senator, the White House continues to send weapons to Israel. But as you heard the Secretary of State say, they are tailoring this to retain specific types of munitions. Does this policy and the administration’s explanation of it make sense to you?
SEN. CHRIS VAN HOLLEN: Margaret, it’s good to be with you and happy Mother’s Day. And let me just say that, you know, Senator Cotton has completely misrepresented the position of President Biden and the Biden administration. Therefore, I think the President is absolutely right to withhold these huge bombs that could be used in Rafah. Remember, the President of the United States repeatedly warned Prime Minister Netanyahu that if there was a full invasion in Rafah, the United States would make political changes and Prime Minister Netanyahu repeatedly ignored the President of the United States, ignored the efforts of the President to try to reduce civilian casualties, ignored our efforts to try to get more humanitarian assistance to Gaza and ignored the priority of trying to bring back the hostages. So, yes, I support the President’s actions here. I thought it was very important to take this.
MARGARET BRENNAN: You, however, were part of this national security memo that we talked about with the secretary, you helped adapt it, and you said after it was published that the State Department’s experience and analysis was set aside to facilitate a predetermined political outcome based on political expediency. Are you saying that the Secretary… the Secretary of State’s inability to conclude anything in this report is a political choice and not based on facts?
SEN. VAN HOLLEN: Well, I believe the facts and the law show what many independent groups that the administration often depends on show. So Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Oxfam, an independent working group that was created to look at the facts and the law, concluded that if we look at some of these incidents, these were clearly violations of international humanitarian law. So while I appreciate the fact that, as Secretary Blinken said, the administration determined that it was reasonable to conclude that violations of international law had occurred. I think there are enough records to be able to point to specific cases and make specific determinations. And in this respect, the administration avoided the difficult questions.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, specifically, do you fear that this report has essentially helped give Prime Minister Netanyahu political cover to continue doing what he’s doing?
SEN. VAN HOLLEN: Well, I’m afraid that by not providing a clear account of the facts and the law, we have essentially asserted that what is happening in Gaza- for example, with regard to the provision of humanitarian assistance, and the total restriction of provision of humanitarian assistance since the beginning of the war, by not stating that categorically and saying that arbitrary restrictions were imposed, I fear that we have set a very, very low standard. A very low standard for what is acceptable, and I think that will come back to haunt us. So yes, Margaret, I am concerned that we have not highlighted very clearly the fact that these restrictions on humanitarian assistance, which are bringing hundreds of thousands of people to the brink of starvation, more than 25 people are already starving to death, including children . I worry that this has essentially allowed a low barrier to disappear without pointing it out very clearly.
MARGARET BRENNAN: But this week, former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley said, “before we self-justify ourselves about what Israel is doing,” we must not forget that the U.S. killed many innocent people in Iraq, in Syria. He said the US killed 12,000 innocent French civilians, bombed Hiroshima, Nagasaki and 69 Japanese cities. What do you think of statements like this? Because Prime Minister Netanyahu says something very similar.
SEN. VAN HOLLEN: Well, Margaret, there is no doubt that – excuse me, that the United States has not been perfect – far from perfect. But since the Second World War, we have taken many other measures to try to restrict harm to civilians and we are constantly trying to improve them. And, of course, after World War II, the world adopted the fourth article of the Geneva Conventions, which is specifically intended to protect civilians in war. So, you know, Milley can talk about the things that happened in World War II, but the world tried to learn some lessons after World War II.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Okay. Let’s take a break and come back and finish this conversation, Senator.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MARGARET BRENNAN: And welcome back to Face the Nation. We now return to our conversation with Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen. Senator, we’ve been talking about the Biden administration. But I want to refer to what is happening in our internal politics at the moment, related to Gaza. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on another network this week that her husband’s administration’s failed diplomacy was the best missed opportunity for a Palestinian state. She’s said this before. But she said the student protesters don’t know much about the history of the Middle East or, frankly, about the history in many areas of the world, including our own country. What do you think of the characterization and concerns at this moment, among so many young voters?
SEN. VAN HOLLEN: Well, I thought, Margaret, that Secretary Clinton’s comments in this regard were quite indifferent to students’ concerns about the terrible humanitarian crisis and the high number of civilian deaths in Gaza. And I must emphasize that we must keep two ideas in our heads at the same time. One is the right of Americans to peacefully protest, but also the need to ensure that students feel safe on campus. And, of course, we also need to ensure that we eradicate anti-Semitism and hate wherever we see it. But I believe that the vast majority of students are protesting, are following very closely what is happening in Gaza. They see a very high number of civilian deaths. And so we can certainly revisit history and past negotiations. But I believe that the overwhelming majority of students, not all and there are some, there are some very bad elements that are involved, as well as on the counter-protest side. But I believe that students understand what is happening in Gaza in terms of civilian casualties.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Senator Van Hollen, thank you very much for your insight today and your reaction. And we’ll be back with more Face the Nation–
SEN. VAN HOLLEN: – Thank you, Margaret.
MARGARET BRENNAN: – and a very special Mother’s Day story.
