By the Palin rule, any misstep on foreign policy by a politician with national aspirations must be shouted from the hilltops. And, since most of the press will not join me, as they think the rule only applies to Republicans, I shall shout this one extra loud. Because it is very silly:

Grimes was asked about foreign policy and the conflict between the Israelis and Hamas during a recent interview with the Lexington Herald Leader.

Grimes’ response casts doubt on her grasp of the basic facts in the Middle East.

“The Iron Dome has been a big reason why Israel has been able to withstand the terrorists that have tried to tunnel their way in,” Grimes was quoted as saying.

That is not the case.

Iron Dome is a joint U.S.-Israeli missile defense system that is able to track terrorist rockets as they enter Israeli territory and destroy them in mid-air. The system has saved scores of Israeli lives and protected the Jewish state during Hamas’s latest terror campaign, in which some 9,000 rockets have been fired at Israel.

Grimes’s comment is sure to draw the attention of critics who say that she lacks solid foreign policy bona fides.

The tunnels that Grimes refers to are a separate issue for Israel.

Grimes unconvincingly tried to finesse the answer in a later release after the NRSC piled on:

“Frankly it’s embarrassing that a Senate candidate would say this,” NRSC press secretary Brook Hougesen said. “Alison Lundergan Grimes is now a year into her candidacy and is still fundamentally unprepared to answer basic questions and has failed to provide any sort of substantive policy plan.”

The Iron Dome system operates in the air, intercepting rockets fired by Hamas using ground-to-air missiles. It does not defend Israel from Hamas-built underground tunnels, the destruction of which Israel has cited as a reason for its latest campaign into Gaza.

In a statement passed along by her campaign on Wednesday, Grimes clarified that the Iron Dome allows Israel to focus its military resources against the threat of tunnels.

I’m just gonna leave this right here:

How Israel’s Iron Dome Anti-Missile System Works

Correction: Changed Democrats to Republicans in my first sentence.

Update: I apologize to you and to Ed for totally missing his earlier post on this. I even searched her name to make sure no one had posted it, and it didn’t come up. My bad entirely, and feel free to go after me in comments. My sincere apologies. This is me right now: