Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) said Thursday that the attacks on American embassies in the Middle East were happening as a result of "the policy of appeasement" and called for immediate congressional hearings into the violence that has left four foreign service officers dead.
"You can start them tomorrow. These hearings should start," Inhofe told Fox News.
"Let's keep in mind, this is a big deal," he continued. "We have four countries right now attacking America. When you attack an embassy, you're attacking America. We can't sit around and wait for hearings. We've got to do it right now."
Inhofe was then asked by Fox host Steve Doocy if the attacks were the result of President Obama's foreign policy, and specifically his "apology tour" when he visited Egypt at the beginning of his presidency. Although the president did not issue any apologies during that trip, Republicans have criticized the tone as too conciliatory.
"Yeah. What foreign policy? The policy of appeasement," Inhofe said. "Yes, it's happening as a result of that … this thing is huge. We mentioned four countries — let me tell you, it's not going to stop there. There is war against America throughout the entire region. They're attacking us now."
Inhofe went on to call for the suspension of aid to countries where diplomatic missions had been attacked. In an interview Wednesday with Telemundo, President Obama said the United States didn't "have the option of withdrawing from the world."
"I think yes — I think rather than say you cut off, you suspend it until we get the answers to the three big questions that we don't know out there," Inhofe said. "We can do this. We can do this very, very soon. But you've got to get their attention. We know that passivity doesn't work. We know the policy has been a disaster over there."
The Oklahoma lawmaker also said unequivocally that he believed the White House approved a statement from the U.S. Embassy in Cairo issued around five hours before the attacks that condemned the content of the anti-Islam film that reportedly sparked the protest. The White House has denied that it approved the statement.
"The one thing I can guarantee you is that the White House saw that, they approved the statement that went out, and that sounds exactly like the words that none other than the President Obama would use," Inhofe said. "That's been his policy now for four years. It's a failed policy; it doesn't work. This is our opportunity to change that policy."
