Cruz Campaign Press Release - Senior Reagan Administration Official Elliott Abrams Urges Pennsylvanians to Support Ted Cruz

HOUSTON, Texas - Elliott Abrams, a senior official in the Reagan and Bush administrations, penned an op-ed for The Philadelphia Inquirer urging voters who are concerned about America's leadership in the world and our relationship with Israel to support Cruz. Abrams writes that Cruz understands the intricacies of Mideast politics and that "Unlike Trump, the concept of American "neutrality" regarding Israel never crossed his mind."

Excerpts below, view full article here.

Commentary: Cruz understands dangers, realities of Mideast

The Philadelphia Inquirer

Elliott Abrams

Two things were immediately clear in my meetings with Cruz. First, the reputation he has for sheer intelligence was obviously well-deserved. His grasp of the dangers facing American interests in the Middle East and facing Israel was broad and deep. He had the facts and he got the nuances. That's not to say we agreed all the time. We sometimes disagreed and debated, and I came to appreciate that he wanted to be challenged by someone else who knew the region and also had strong views. He wanted to think it all through.

Second, his commitment to Israel's security was readily apparent and deeply felt. That was one reason he so strongly opposed the nuclear agreement with Iran: because it would legitimize its nuclear program and lead it in only 10 years to a possible nuclear weapon. While Donald Trump is talking about extracting more from Israel for its defense, Cruz wants to beef up the missile defense programs like Iron Dome, David's Sling, and Arrow that are crucial for Israel — and immensely valuable for the United States, with our bases all over the globe.

Cruz also understood fully the history of the "peace process" between Israel and the Palestinians, with generous Israeli offers (in 2000 and 2008) being rejected by the Palestinian leadership. He understands fully how deeply Israelis seek peace — but how dangerous a bad deal would be to their security, with Hamas in Gaza, ISIS in Syria, and violence throughout the region. Unlike Trump, the concept of American "neutrality" regarding Israel never crossed his mind.