I have a little bit of unsolicited advice for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
In the recent visit by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken to Israel, Blinken made news by saying, in response to Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant’s point that Israel was united in the aim to dismantle and crush the Hamas terror organization, however long it took:
“I don’t think you have the credit for that.”
In other words, what Secretary Blinken, and the entire Biden administration, are expressing is that they are not going to back Israel in its war against Hamas. This war was initiated when Hamas invaded Israel on October 7 and viciously slaughtered, raped and tortured 1200 Israeli men, women, children, and the elderly, and then took another 240 Israeli civilians’ hostage. Among the dead and kidnapped civilians were many Americans.
This arrogant statement is coming from the same Biden administration that has done the following things:
1. Unceasingly lectured Israel about excessive Palestinian civilian casualties, despite the fact that the administration is relying on the Hamas numbers of casualties, which are demonstrably and intentionally false, and ignoring the fact that Hamas is deliberately putting Palestinian civilians in harm’s way, to maximize these deaths. And despite the fact that it is well-known that the Israel Defense Force (IDF) “does more to safeguard the rights of civilians in a combat zone than any other army in the history of warfare” and as a result, the IDF is the “world’s most moral army.” And despite the fact that in this particular conflict, “Israel is taking the most effective possible steps to minimize civilian casualties.”
2. Apologized for President Biden’s original statement that the administration knew the truth about these ridiculous Hamas casualty numbers.
3. Constantly promoted the ‘two-state solution’, which is not in the U.S. national interest, of creating yet another majority Palestinian state – after Jordan and Gaza – to create a “peace” which will not result in actual peace, but instead more war, for Israel, the Palestinians, and the Middle East.
4. Stated that future U.S. military aid to Israel may require conditions to this aid, not just on Israeli war conduct, which does not need conditioning (see above), but also presumably to require a two-state solution, which is still not in the U.S. national interest.
5. Constantly pressured Israel to agree to “pauses” in the conflict, despite knowing that Hamas would use those pauses to rest, rearm, and prepare for the next round of fighting. And they are also seeking these pauses even while knowing that the Palestinian casualty numbers are totally ridiculous (see above). And finally, they are seeking these pauses despite knowing that for Israel to agree to institute these pauses would inevitably result in more Israeli casualties. The U.S. should not want to do this, since Israel is the aggrieved party in this particular situation, and it is a strong U.S. ally in general. And Hamas is a terrorist organization.
6. Pressured Israel, behind the scenes, to agree to a permanent cease fire, which would reward Hamas for their savagery, and allow the terror group to plan for their next surprise attack, which they have repeatedly said they will do.
7. Funded the Iranian radical terrorist Islamist regime with (at least) tens of billions of dollars, which, in turn, has funded Hamas with hundreds of millions, allowing them to plan and initiate the October 7th attack. Iran, of course, is the leading state sponsor of terrorism in the world, and it seeks the actual genocide of all Jews – as opposed to the fake ‘genocide of Palestinians’ that brainwashed leftwing Americans chant about. It also organizes Iranian demonstrations where the crowd frequently screams “Death to America” or maligns the U.S. as the ‘Great Satan’, while also planning, and killing Americans, both U.S. soldiers and civilians. Oh…the Iranian regime is also seeking nuclear weapons.
8. Required (back in 2016, when Barack Obama was President and Joe Biden was Vice President) that Israel purchase only American military equipment when it uses its U.S. military aid vouchers. This has limited the development of the Israeli defense industry, and leaves Israel susceptible to U.S. interference with Israeli self-defense actions, such as what is occurring now, and all of which is based on ridiculous propaganda (see above).
I believe there is only one way to handle such unmitigated arrogance from an administration which pretends to be a friend and an ally, but acts in such a duplicitous manner to hinder and endanger that ally’s defense of its own civilians. It is the obvious response, but I can’t actually say the language on the page of this family friendly website. However, I can link to the following YouTube Clip, and counsel the prime minister that the next time a member of the Biden administration makes some criticism of Israeli conduct, or demands some change in Israel’s behavior, he should respond exactly like this.
And what is the danger to Israel from this approach of insulting and rebuffing the Biden administration? That the administration will appease it?
Adam Turner is a foreign policy expert and national security professional, with two decades of experience on Capitol Hill and in Washington DC.
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