There’s a new Democrat heading to Congress from New Jersey, and apparently nobody bothered to tell him that identifying America’s adversaries isn’t supposed to be a trick question. Congressman-elect Adam Hamawy appeared on CNN Tuesday, November 10, where anchor Pamela Brown repeatedly asked whether Iran was an adversary of the United States. Simple enough, right? We’re talking about a country whose government has spent decades promoting anti-American hostility, supporting terrorist organizations, and threatening American interests. Surely an incoming member of Congress could handle that one without requiring a legal team, three diplomatic interpreters, and a PowerPoint presentation. Well, think again. Brown asked. Hamawy dodged. She asked again. He dodged again. By the time the interview was over, viewers had learned considerably more about the congressman’s ability to avoid a question than about his understanding of American foreign policy. And remember, folks, this guy hasn’t even taken the oath of office yet.
Pamela Brown Keeps Asking, and Adam Hamawy Keeps Looking for an Exit
The exchange began when Brown asked Hamawy whether he considered Iran an American adversary and Israel an ally. Rather than answer, Hamawy declared that Israel had pushed the United States into the ongoing war with Iran, which he described as illegal and immoral. Brown tried again, asking directly whether Iran was an adversary. Hamawy responded that America had pushed Iran into a fight. Brown pressed him yet again. This time, Hamawy offered this remarkable bit of foreign-policy wisdom: “We’re making adversaries when we should be making friends.” Well, isn’t that precious? Maybe someone should send Tehran a friendship bracelet and a handwritten invitation to the congressional holiday party. Brown continued pressing, pointing out Iran’s long history of anti-American rhetoric. Hamawy responded by suggesting America had been saying similar things about Iran for decades. When Brown noted that Iran had killed Americans, Hamawy answered, “And we’ve killed a lot of them as well.” Apparently, in this emerging school of international diplomacy, decades of hostility can be resolved by insisting everyone is equally responsible and hoping nobody asks a follow-up question. Unfortunately for Hamawy, Pamela Brown wasn’t quite finished. The remarkable exchange was also documented by Mediaite, which counted five attempts by Brown to get a straightforward answer.
Iran Has Been on America’s Terrorism List Since 1984, but Let’s Not Rush to Conclusions
Here’s a little historical background that might help the incoming congressman with his homework. The United States designated Iran a state sponsor of terrorism in January 1984. That’s not some controversial new talking point cooked up by Donald Trump or Pete Hegseth. The designation dates back more than four decades and reflects Iran’s support for international terrorism. The U.S. State Department has documented Iranian assistance to Hezbollah, Palestinian terrorist organizations, and militia groups operating throughout the Middle East. Those groups have threatened American personnel, American allies, and American interests for years. None of this means the United States must support every military operation against Iran or abandon diplomacy. Reasonable people can disagree about the war, its legality, its costs, and how it should end. But acknowledging an adversary exists is not the same thing as demanding that we bomb it into the Stone Age. Hamawy seems determined to confuse those two entirely different questions. It’s rather like refusing to acknowledge that your house is on fire because you disagree with how the fire department parked its truck.
The Congressman Wants America to Make Friends With Iran
To his credit, Hamawy eventually acknowledged that Iran’s government is authoritarian, dictatorial, and harmful to its own people. He also agreed that preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons is a worthy objective. Those are reasonable positions, which makes his refusal to answer the original question all the more bizarre. Hamawy repeatedly advocated diplomacy, pointing to the nuclear agreement negotiated during the Obama administration as an example of an alternative approach. Fine. Diplomacy is an instrument of foreign policy, and even hostile governments can negotiate agreements. But successful diplomacy generally begins with understanding whom you’re negotiating with and why their behavior presents a problem. When Brown explained that Americans deserve clarity from someone about to represent them in Congress, Hamawy insisted that identifying allies and adversaries didn’t help resolve the conflict. Really? Knowing which governments threaten American interests is now an unnecessary distraction? Perhaps the next great diplomatic breakthrough will involve replacing the State Department’s intelligence briefings with inspirational refrigerator magnets. Peace. Love. Understanding. And whatever you do, don’t ask whether the fellow launching missiles in your direction might be an adversary.
Israel Is an American Ally, but Hamawy Won’t Say That Either
The congressman’s evasions weren’t limited to Iran. Brown also pressed Hamawy on whether Israel should be considered an American ally, and he declined to provide a direct answer to that question, too. What he did make perfectly clear was his opposition to all American military aid to Israel, including funding for the Iron Dome missile-defense system. Iron Dome is designed to intercept incoming rockets, making Hamawy’s opposition to its funding particularly noteworthy. When questioned about missile-defense systems that might protect American troops in the region, he distinguished between equipment operated by U.S. forces and assistance provided to another country. That is a legitimate technical distinction, but it doesn’t explain why he was so reluctant to identify Israel’s relationship with the United States. You can criticize Israeli government policies. You can debate military assistance. You can even argue that America’s relationship with Israel needs substantial changes. But refusing to call Israel an ally while simultaneously declining to identify Iran as an adversary leaves voters with a fairly obvious question: Exactly how does this incoming congressman see America’s place in the world?
His Explanation of the Leahy Laws Leaves Out an Important Detail
Hamawy justified his opposition to Israeli military assistance by invoking the Leahy Laws, which restrict American assistance to foreign security-force units credibly implicated in gross human-rights violations. The problem is that he described those laws as though they automatically prohibit all military assistance to any country accused of violating human rights. That’s not how the laws are written. As explained by the Congressional Research Service, the restrictions generally apply to specific foreign military or security units, with defined procedures and exceptions. Whether particular Israeli units should face restrictions is a legitimate question requiring evidence and legal review. But that’s considerably different from claiming existing law mandates an across-the-board cutoff of every dollar of military assistance to Israel. For a man who spent much of his CNN appearance discussing international law, one might reasonably expect a little more precision about the law he’s citing. Then again, precision was apparently in short supply throughout this interview.
Hamawy’s Military Service Deserves Respect, Which Makes This Performance Even More Puzzling
There is one especially important fact about Adam Hamawy that deserves to be acknowledged without sarcasm. He’s a former Army combat surgeon who helped save the life of Tammy Duckworth after her helicopter was shot down in Iraq in 2004. Duckworth subsequently became a United States senator, and she has publicly credited Hamawy with helping save her life. That’s extraordinary service to this country, and it deserves genuine respect. Hamawy has also treated wounded civilians in Gaza and witnessed the terrible human consequences of war. Those experiences help explain his strong opposition to the current conflict and his preference for diplomacy. But military service, however honorable, doesn’t place anyone’s political judgment beyond criticism. If anything, his background makes his unwillingness to acknowledge Iran’s adversarial relationship with America more surprising. Someone who has experienced the brutal reality of warfare understands better than most that the world contains dangerous people and dangerous governments. Recognizing that reality doesn’t make someone a warmonger. It makes them realistic. Hamawy’s military service and election victory were also reported by the New Jersey Monitor.
He Wants Pete Hegseth Impeached, but the House Had Other Ideas
The interview also covered Hamawy’s support for impeaching Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Hamawy accused Hegseth of undermining military leadership and argued that his removal would bring accountability for the administration’s conduct during the Iran war. Interestingly, the impeachment effort was led by Republican Congressman Thomas Massie of Kentucky, who accused Hegseth of pursuing military operations without proper congressional authorization and committing other abuses of power. But on November 10, the House voted 211–204 to refer the impeachment resolution to the Judiciary Committee, effectively blocking the immediate effort. As CBS News reported, the procedural vote effectively sidelined Massie’s resolution. Hamawy is entitled to argue for accountability, and Congress certainly has a responsibility to examine executive military decisions. Still, there’s something remarkable about watching an incoming lawmaker speak so confidently about removing America’s defense secretary while struggling to explain whether a hostile foreign government is actually an adversary. Apparently, identifying the bad guys in Washington is considerably easier than identifying them overseas.
Final Thoughts
Look, nobody is suggesting that Adam Hamawy has to support every American military operation, endorse every decision made by Israel, or abandon his belief that diplomacy can help resolve international conflicts. He’s entitled to his opinions, just as Americans are entitled to question them. But there’s a rather significant difference between opposing a war and refusing to acknowledge that the country you’re fighting has been an American adversary for decades. Iran’s government didn’t suddenly become hostile to the United States because Pete Hegseth showed up at the Pentagon. Its record of supporting terrorism, threatening American interests, and backing violent organizations stretches back through Republican and Democratic administrations alike. And the fact that Hamawy couldn’t bring himself to say something so basic during a nationally televised interview raises legitimate questions about his judgment.
What makes this especially remarkable is that Pamela Brown wasn’t exactly asking him to solve the Middle East crisis before the next commercial break. She wasn’t demanding a military strategy, a nuclear agreement, or the secret formula for world peace. She simply wanted to know whether he considered Iran an adversary and Israel an ally. That’s it. Two countries. Two straightforward questions. And somehow, a man who spent years performing complicated surgery on wounded soldiers couldn’t navigate either one without disappearing into a fog of diplomatic double-talk. His service as a combat surgeon deserves respect, but his political positions deserve scrutiny. Both things can be true. If Hamawy genuinely believes Iran isn’t an American adversary, he should have the courage to say so and defend that position. If he believes Israel isn’t an ally, he should explain that, too. Instead, we got five rounds of verbal gymnastics that would have earned a perfect score at the Political Olympics. Welcome to Congress, Congressman-elect Hamawy. Apparently, the first qualification is knowing how to avoid answering the question. The second is hoping nobody notices.
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