This isn’t just Israel’s fight, even if Israel is doing all the fighting.
The front page of today’s Wall Street Journal serves up what is arguably the best news for U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East in a generation, and the great irony is not just that the U.S. has had so little to do with it, but that the current administration has often argued Israel should not have taken the actions that led to it:
With two of Iran’s most powerful proxies—Hezbollah and Hamas—fighting for their lives, Tehran has lost a central pillar of its deterrence strategy, giving Israel an opening to strike what it sees as its most dangerous foe…
Ironically, it was the threat of reprisals by Hezbollah and, to a lesser extent, Hamas, that was supposed to help dissuade Israel from any direct attack on Iran. Now, however, Israel’s success in degrading the two militant organizations, both considered terrorist groups by the U.S., has set the stage for a potentially bigger hit.
“Hezbollah and Hamas are paralyzed temporarily and Iran is exposed,” said former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett. “Right now, they’re naked, they don’t have the ability to protect themselves. Israel has the greatest opportunity in 50 years to change the face of the Middle East.”
Hamas has been eviscerated as a fighting force by a nearly yearlong Israeli campaign in Gaza, prompted by the militant group’s Oct. 7 attacks on southern Israel that authorities say killed around 1,200 people.
Hezbollah, which for much of the past year has pelted northern Israel with projectiles from its vast arsenal of Iranian-supplied rockets and missiles, is in disarray after a series of Israeli blows that have decapitated its leadership and destroyed a significant part of its weapons stockpile.
This isn’t just Israel’s fight, even if Israel is doing all the fighting.
Hamas is an American enemy. They hold, and have executed, American hostages. Their terrorist attacks have killed Americans in the past.
Hezbollah is an American enemy. They have killed American military personnel.
Iran is an American enemy. Iranian-backed militants have killed and wounded American military personnel. Iran supported terrorists and insurgents in Iraq that killed Americans in uniform.
You would think that an American president would not merely be cheering on Israeli actions that eliminate Iranian-backed terrorist threats, he would be lending all possible aid. Instead, the Biden administration is emphasizing that it offered no assistance and played no role in the strike that killed Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah.
And now the president apparently thinks it’s a good idea to blurt out what he’s heard about Israeli response plans.
Q Would you support Israel striking Iran’s oil facilities, sir?
THE PRESIDENT: We’re in discussion of that. I think — I think that would be a little — anyway.
Biden got a question about Jack Smith, and then:
Q (Inaudible) response to the retaliation? Will you let Israel retaliate? What are the plans to allow Israel to strike back against Iran?
THE PRESIDENT: First of all, we don’t allow Israel. We advise Israel. And there’s nothing going to happen today. We’ll talk about that later.
This is how President Biden helps, by announcing to the world that Israeli retaliatory strikes aren’t coming today.