Israel’s equivalent of 9/11 came on their Sabbath and the 50th anniversary of the Yom Kippur War. The world watched in horror as Hamas continued its reign of terror, launching upwards of 5,000 rockets into Israel and killing more than 1,100 men, women, and children. Twenty-two Americans have been killed, and more than 100 civilians, including children and elderly women, have been kidnapped.

Mossad, one of the best intelligence agencies in the world, along with our own CIA, didn’t even see this coming. Hamas crept in during the middle of the night, dragged old women and parents from their beds, and left their murdered bodies in the street. Israel is anything but a weak nation, and its willingness to defend its homeland is not a secret. For this reason alone, we must acknowledge the despicable acts of Oct. 7 as a cautionary tale for the United States .

With all this technological superiority, the powerful Israeli Defense Force was caught completely off guard in a coordinated sea, air, and land attack by Hamas. Twenty-two targets were planned out with great precision, leaving the world to wonder if IDF’s Southern Command is compromised. This Southern Command oversees the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, and it is the home of Israel's F-16 strike fighters. It is equivalent to our U.S. Northern Command, which coordinates the efforts of the Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Coast Guard, and North American Air Defense.

There is no doubt Iran was part of the funding, equipping, and planning of this massacre.

President Joe Biden didn’t just allocate $6 billion in ransom to Iran, but $76 billion, which the media egregiously failed to report. They neglected to include $10 billion in sanctions waivers allowing Iraq to pay Iran and another $60 billion in oil sanctions Biden refused to enforce. One wonders what a country whose goal is the total destruction of Israel while also chanting “death to America” does with $76 billion, the same amount the U.S. has given to Ukraine to defeat Russia. Now we know.

Most countries in the Middle East recognize Iran as a perpetual antagonist; it is an enemy of peace and the creator of chaos. In Afghanistan, it provided the drones that gave both the Taliban and ISIS the means to conduct aerial strikes on American troops. It was my impossible duty to defeat these devices for 20 years on those battlefields. It supplied 5,000 rockets for Hamas to fire on innocent civilians on Oct. 7. America must heed this warning across the Atlantic before it is too late.

I believe something far worse than Sept. 11 is brewing.

If I were to attack America, I would weaken her from within first. I would sew seeds of discontent and discord so effectively that I wouldn’t need a sneak attack in the middle of the night or to paraglide into a concert. I would distract and confuse so even the most logical actions to protect a nation are labeled racist or hateful. I would use emotion and headlines to manipulate the narrative. I would flood our borders with immigrants so the tens of thousands of military-aged men can blend in and secure their foothold. I would turn the Left against the Right on social issues, I would turn educators against parents, and vice versa. I would corrupt their language and threaten their livelihood if they spoke out against the culture. I would normalize crime.

I would weaken our military and make national pride akin to fascism. I would use war in other parts of the world to force spending abroad instead of ensuring a safe haven at home. I would exploit a weak economy to continue supply chain issues, increasing our reliance on foreign entities in manufacturing and medication. I would deplete our weapons arsenal so our engagement on the world stage was eventually crippled. I would sew division so deep we no longer recognize right from wrong. I would use the last three years to cause confusion and chaos in Washington.

And then I would strike.

The United States is more vulnerable than Israel ever was, and now we must face the reality of our own failed national security policies. Our border is a terrorist’s playground, and it is the duty of our leadership to engage with the sole purpose of prioritizing national security. This is not a political issue. This is not a Left or a Right talking point. It is time for those in Washington to do their job or step aside. There can be no equivocating or compromising when it comes to the safety of the American people. We must take immediate steps to ensure our economic and physical security.

With $33 trillion in debt, we cannot continue to support other countries without first taking care of our senior citizens and the homeless. We must secure our border and police the people who have invaded our southern border and literally planted their nations’ flags on our soil. We must take a tactical pause to assess our own readiness and our ability to defend against a complex attack.

The federal government must fire up the industrial base. We do this by first allowing other countries to store rare and precious minerals in our country free of capital gains tax, with the caveat that we can buy them at market rates when we need them for national security. We must establish foundries in this country and accelerate the production of vital microchips. Acceleration will involve removing regulations that bog down innovation and manufacturing. Instead of forgiving college loans, we need to incentivize our youth to become certified welders, mechanics, builders, and technicians. This is how we strengthen a nation.

In the days to come, we will watch Israel fight to preserve its freedom and security. We will see more bloodshed and wonder how many more American lives will be lost at the hands of ruthless terrorists. And we’ll either learn from it or continue to pretend this will never happen again on U.S. soil. I hope it’s the former.

Hung Cao is a U.S. Senate candidate from Virginia and a retired Navy captain who served in special operations for 25 years.