In his speech, President Biden called the actions of Hamas a horrific atrocity. He noted that Hamas is a terrorist organization “whose stated purpose is to kill Jews.” He said that Hamas used Palestinian civilians as human shields and offered nothing but “terror and bloodshed.” He rightly called Hamas’s murderous invasion an “act of sheer evil.”

Biden warned other malign actors against using this moment to press their aims elsewhere in the world. He called on Congress to fund the urgent national-security requirements of the U.S. and critical allies.

He told the American people that he had ordered the deployment of the USS Gerald R. Ford‘s carrier strike group to the eastern Mediterranean to act as a deterrent force.

Biden said that he had instructed the U.S. government to “consult with and advise” Israel in its efforts to find and, if possible, rescue the more than 100 hostages held by Hamas.

But he did not directly demand that Hamas immediately release the dozen or more U.S. nationals currently being held hostage. And he did not directly warn Hamas that the U.S. would punish Hamas if it refused.

Why not?

There is, of course, very little chance that the Americans held by Hamas are ever released. Their fates are, tragically, in the hands of bloodthirsty murderers who have not and will not hesitate to break the laws of civilized war. That shouldn’t, however, stop an American president from voicing what every American rightly demands.

Biden said, “As president, I have no higher priority than the safety of Americans being held hostage around the world.”

But what good is American power — or Biden’s self-professed “priority” — if we cannot or will not exact a heavy price on terrorist goons who kill Americans abroad? Why must an American president hesitate and equivocate about using American force to defend American citizens?

The president should have given Hamas 24 hours to release our people, or he’d order the Ford into action. Why didn’t he?