This high-handed attitude baffles and infuriates observers who wonder why Biden continues to provide arms and ammunition to Israel and veto anti-Israel resolutions in the United Nations Security Council. I’m letting you do it. Part of the explanation is that Biden is an emotionally committed Zionist who believes that Israel has the right to defend itself, even if he abused that privilege in Gaza. Another reason is that Biden is an experienced foreign policy official and that US support for Israel will delay the escalation into a regional war that would surely involve the US and damage the economy in an election year. Because I understand that it will help you.
Biden’s “bear hug” to Israel was seen in return last Saturday night when Israel launched a pinprick retaliation early Friday morning for a major Iranian attack on Israel. The risk of a regional conflagration rose when Iran launched more than 300 drones and missiles at Israel in response to an earlier Israeli attack that destroyed the Iranian consulate in Damascus and killed three Iranian generals. increased dramatically. It was the first time Iran had attacked Israel directly in the 45-year shadow war between the two countries. It has always preferred to act through proxy groups such as Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis.
If Iran’s attack had caused significant damage, Israel would have been forced to respond in kind, and the region would have been engulfed in conflict, with U.S. forces drawn into it. Rather than allowing it, Biden committed the U.S. military to working with Britain, France and Jordan to help defend Israel. Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states also appear to have provided intelligence support. U.S. F-15s and F-16s have shot down at least 70 Iranian drones, U.S. Patriot batteries in northern Iraq have shot down Iranian ballistic missiles, and two U.S. warships have shot down four to four ballistic missiles in the Eastern Mediterranean. 6 shots were shot down. Israel says that in the end, 99% of Iranian projectiles were intercepted, with minimal damage.
In the days since then, Biden and aides have been lobbying Israel to “succeed” and refrain from retaliation that could bring the country to the brink of broader war. This pressure made an impression on the Israeli public. A Hebrew University poll released Tuesday found that 74% of Israelis oppose striking back against Iran “if it undermines Israel’s security alliance with its allies.”
Prime Minister Netanyahu and Israel’s war cabinet felt they could not afford to do nothing, but ignored the advice of hardliners who wanted massive retaliation. According to the Wall Street Journal, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Likud ministers that Israel’s response was “prudent and not irresponsible.”
Prime Minister Netanyahu was true to his word early Friday. Israel carried out only minimal attacks against military air bases near the city of Isfahan.Iran claimed it was carried by a drone, which was in fact the case probably a missile It was fired from an F-15 flying over Syrian airspace. In any case, the damage was designed to be kept to a minimum, and Israel was careful not to claim credit, leaving Iran with room to back down.
Israel has signaled that it can attack targets inside Iran. Israel’s air power is superior to Iran’s, and Iran’s air defense capabilities are inferior to Israel’s. It is no coincidence that Isfahan is home to Iran’s main nuclear facility. Israel was demonstrating that it could bomb Iran’s nuclear program if it wanted to. Currently, Iran is sending signals that it wants to avoid escalation.
So chalk up Biden’s small victory and give credit to Netanyahu as well. Israel’s prime minister has faced international condemnation over the past six months for civilian casualties by his country’s forces in Gaza, but Hamas forced Israel into that war with the Oct. 7 attack. Prime Minister Netanyahu has actually been cautious about using force during his nearly two decades in power. He has often threatened to bomb Iran’s nuclear program, but has never actually done so. And shortly after October 7, he ignored the advice of his own defense minister to launch a second front against Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Although a regional war has been averted so far, the danger remains that Iran and Israel may have crossed a red line by directly attacking each other’s territory. Preventing hostilities from spiraling out of control will require active and sustained U.S. involvement. It is especially important that Israel and Saudi Arabia return to negotiations to normalize relations, which were interrupted by the Gaza war.
Biden’s hopes are similar to those of his two predecessors, to pivot away from the Middle East and toward great power competition with Russia and China. The region remains too important and too unstable to ignore. But last week’s events show that with patient, steady, and decisive leadership, Washington can still help keep the region out of war.
