Republican members of the Senate Intelligence Committee recently returned from a trip to the Middle East to examine the region’s anti-terrorism efforts and provide oversight of key intelligence programs.
Included in the delegation were U.S. Sens. Richard Burr (R-NC), chairman of the committee; John Cornyn (R-TX), vice chair of the committee; James Lankford (R-OK), Marco Rubio (R-FL), and Tom Cotton (R-AR).
The senators met with key allies in the fight against terrorism, including Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Al-Hariri, along with key American diplomats stationed in the region.
“We also visited the Beirut Memorial, which honors the victims of terrorism, including the 241 U.S. service personnel who died in the 1983 Beirut barracks bombing and those who perished in the 1983 bombing of our embassy,” Lankford said. “Lebanon, Jordan, and Israel are dealing with many security challenges and multiple terrorist threats on a daily basis. It is important that terrorists are identified and defeated in the Middle East before they bring the fight to our homeland.”
The group also visited the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv where they met with President Trump’s pick for Ambassador, David Friedman, and then received an intelligence briefing from U.S. Consul General Donald Blome in Jerusalem.