I was dreading the day that this might happen, but I suppose it was probably inevitable. After holding the line for 100 days, it appears that Joe Biden has succumbed to pressure from within his own party and started to walk away from our stalwart ally Israel. The statement from the White House yesterday wasn’t a total abandonment of Israel (at least not yet) but it was clearly a call for Bibi Netanyahu to change course and back off in his battle to eliminate Hamas. Biden’s spokesperson said that the 100-day mark of the war is “the right time” for Israel to “scale back” the offensive in the Gaza Strip. Perhaps ironically, the statement was issued just as Israel was not only pressing the offensive in Gaza but sending warplanes to strike Hezbollah targets in Lebanon where a missile strike was launched yesterday that killed two Israeli citizens. (AP)
The White House said Sunday that “it’s the right time” for Israel to scale back its military offensive in the Gaza Strip, as Israeli leaders again vowed to press ahead with their operation against the territory’s ruling Hamas militant group.
The comments exposed the growing differences between the close allies on the 100th day of the war.
Also Sunday, Israeli warplanes struck targets in Lebanon following a Hezbollah missile attack that killed two Israeli civilians — an older woman and her adult son — in northern Israel. The exchange of fire underscored concerns that the Gaza violence could trigger wider fighting across the region.
This policy shift is shameful and will endure as a dark stain on America’s foreign policy history. Our adversaries sense weakness in Biden and they act accordingly. But clearly, Biden’s own supporters similarly detect weakness in Joe Biden’s resolve when it comes to our traditional obligations. Biden’s team is watching his poll numbers crumbling even among his traditional supporters and now they have mounted a violent protest right outside of the White House. Biden is obviously more concerned about his own political fortunes than global stability or the security of our closest allies, so he’s publicly calling out Israel to back off on the elimination of the Hamas terrorist organization that has vowed to wipe both Israel and the United States from the face of the Earth.
The White House sent out John Kirby to do the dirty work. He went on Face the Nation and said that Biden’s team has been speaking to Israel about “a transition to low-intensity operations” in Gaza. That’s just mildly coded language for a ceasefire or something close to it. Kirby tried to moderate the message a bit so it wouldn’t look like they were caving entirely. He said, “We’re not saying let your foot up off the gas completely.” But urging Israel to slow down or reduce the pressure at all serves no purpose other than to give the remaining Hamas fighters and leadership a reason to continue the fight and keep hold of the hostages rather than surrendering. You don’t abandon a tactic when it’s working.
Don’t expect this to deter Bibi Netanyahu in any meaningful way. Just this weekend he affirmed that only Israel will determine when its goals have been achieved and the war should end. And that won’t happen until Hamas has been removed root and branch from Gaza. But a lack of unconditional support from the United States would still create a very dangerous situation for the Middle East. Israel has thus far demonstrated that they are fully capable of fighting this war without us, aside from the need to purchase military supplies as they have always done. Unfortunately, the only thing that prevents other Arab interests sympathetic to Hamas from jumping onto the dogpile is the fear that the United States would respond in kind. If they sense that America’s resolve is weakening, Israel could be facing a full assault on multiple fronts, perhaps large enough to overwhelm their forces.
If that happens, the blame for the loss of Israel will rest on America’s shoulders. The Arab dreams of completing the genocide of the Jews will be within reach. These are the stakes we’re dealing with here, and Joe Biden cannot be allowed to abandon our closest ally simply to mollify the pro-Hamas activists in his party.