Politics and responsibility today are like oil and water, and their disconnect can cost lives.
There was a time when leaders, including political leaders, understood that with power came responsibility. Harry Truman famously had "The Buck Stops Here" sign on his desk in the Oval Office. Two British ministers resigned after Argentina attacked the Falkland Islands; they felt that their failures had allowed for the surprise attack. In the day, the British used to execute admirals who failed to perform in battle. True leadership means your taking responsibility for your own failures as well as those of anyone under you. Notably, no one was ever fired or punished for 9/11, because leadership has become responsibility-free. Likewise, two decades later no one was punished for the willy-nilly retreat from Afghanistan that cost the lives of 13 Marines.
When I drive out of Jerusalem, I pass by the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It’s a typically boring governmental building with the traditional bollards and other security features to keep those inside safe. Besides the standard Israeli flags around the perimeter, there has of late been a large banner hanging down the side of the building. The bunting has pictures of the Israeli hostages in Gaza, a yellow ribbon, and large letters proclaiming, “BRING THEM HOME NOW.”
Trying not to drive off of the road, I thought about this big sign, copies of which can be seen elsewhere in the city. If the command was directed at Hamas, the only ones who can readily release the hostages, it would obviously have said, “LET THEM GO!”. If it was an appeal to God, as many Israelis have become more religiously observant since the 10/7 pogrom, then it might read, “PLEASE SET THEM FREE!” But the language as seen on the side of the building as well as on placards at frequent protests on the same subject puts the onus for releasing the remaining hostages on Binyamin (Bibi) Netanyahu and his government. It is a command to the leaders of Israel to bring home these people who have no doubt suffered horrifically at the hands of sadistic barbarians. The implication is that the hostages must be brought home at any cost, including risking IDF soldiers as well as Israeli citizens by agreeing to whatever Hamas demands. Hamas’ most recent sky-high terms include, in part, Israel ceasing all military activity, leaving Gaza fully, releasing top security prisoners from Israeli prisons, and allowing one thousand trucks a day into the Strip. Bibi has followed Dontald Trump’s advice from the Art of the Deal and walked away from this really bad offer. There are 10 million Israelis who would be put at risk by such a plan and all previous prisoner releases have led to terror attacks in which Israelis were killed. Leadership means doing the right thing, even if it is unpopular in the press and with the noisiest elements of society. All Israelis want the hostages home; the vast majority want Hamas crushed independent of any deal for the hostages.
The focus on the government as the supposed problem in securing the release of the hostages is an outcome of leftwing groups attaching themselves to the suffering families. The families should be expected to ask for any step that would bring their loved ones home. It is not their task during this extended horror show to think about geopolitical implications of a hostage deal. They just want their loved ones home safely, and that is normal. Those on the left who have hijacked their cause, the same ones who half a year ago were protesting reasonable judicial reforms to get the High Court out of politics, simply grabbed the families’ righteous efforts and made the massive rallies a referendum on Netanyahu and his government. Instead of demanding that Hamas release the hostages immediately and without any terms, the left sees an opening to attack its opponents and demand that Netanyahu cave to Hamas’ demands, even if the terms are an invitation for another 10/7-type attack in the future. Nobody who pushed the Gilad Schalit for 1,000 terrorists deal ever took responsibility for those since killed and wounded by the released prisoners. The people who push such irresponsible policies never take responsibility for their efforts.
And the same is true in the US. Biden officials, including the now-impeached Alejandro Mayorkas, never take responsibility for letting millions of unvetted illegal aliens into the country. They take no responsibility for the increased crime in big cities, the overtaxed social services and the lowered wages for competing American citizens. They take no responsibility for the destruction caused by their Covid-era policies or the adverse medical effects of the rushed-into-use vaccines. The drug companies were indemnified by the government, so they too can never be held responsible.
Our not-all-there President Biden has taken to using his typically foul mouth to call Bibi an asshole and a “bad f*ucking guy” according to conveniently leaked internal conversations. His ire has been raised by the fact that many younger Democrats openly support Hamas, with calls for "intifada revolution" and a Palestinian state in place of the Israeli one. They demand a ceasefire to save the remainder of the terror group, and Biden—who initially had been so supportive—recently called Israel’s super-careful effort to uproot this murderous terror group “over the top”. Biden initially said that Hamas had to be destroyed; more recently he seems okay with Hamas being around if it means that he too will also be around as president in 2025. While Bibi’s political career will probably be over after whatever 10/7 reports are produced later this year showing multiple failures on his watch, he and the Israeli people understand that if Israel does not destroy its enemies now, then these terror groups will again be able to choose the time and place to slaughter Jews. Leadership demands responsibility. And for that very reason, Joe Biden’s political career should also end at the ballot box later this year.
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