One has to wonder why the Israeli prime minister insisted on visiting the White House in the midst of the greatest strategic catastrophe to befall the US since the Sept. 11 attacks.
Caroline B. Glick, ISRAEL HAYOM
Three weeks ago, Foreign Minister Yair Lapid and Defense Minister Benny Gantz convened the ambassadors from all the UN Security Council member nations in Jerusalem and told them that if Iran maintains its current pace of uranium enrichment, it will reach military nuclear break-out capacity in 70 days. If their countdown clock is accurate, Iran is now around seven weeks away from becoming a nuclear-capable state.
Given the urgency of the situation, Israel’s prime minister could have been expected to fly to Washington to make clear to the US president that Israel intends to attack Iran’s nuclear facilities Qom, Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan, (or any combination of them), in order to stop the clock. The same prime minister could be expected to tell the president that while Israel would appreciate US assistance in carrying out the mission, all Israel asks is for the US not to undermine its operation.
In the face of things then, it makes sense to assess Naftali Bennett’s trip to Washington in the context of the urgency of the hour. And on the face of things, it appears to have been carried out in this context.
Bennett insisted on visiting the White House in the midst of the greatest strategic catastrophe to befall the US since the Sept. 11 attacks. But whereas those attacks were the work of foreign jihadist terrorists, America’s present strategic defeat – now compounded by last Wednesday’s murderous terrorist assault on Kabul airport – is the direct consequence of President Joe Biden’s actions.
Over the past few weeks, Biden has demonstrated that his judgment is impaired. The apparent absence of any strategic or operational foresight informing America’s humiliating withdrawal from Kabul, and Biden’s failure to coordinate the operation with US allies has decimated his credibility. US allies recognize that they cannot trust America under his leadership.
If it was so important to Bennett to come in the midst of all of this, he could have been expected to leverage the current crisis to make clear that Israel is not following the US down the rabbit hole. Israel will defend itself and the time to act has arrived.
But that doesn’t appear to be what happened. Bennett said that he presented Biden with a completely new strategy for blocking Iran from becoming a nuclear-armed state. And Biden helpfully said that he was committed to blocking Iran from ever acquiring nuclear weapons. But Biden also said that he doesn’t think the situation is urgent at all. On the contrary. He said, “We’re putting diplomacy first and seeing where it takes us.” He added blandly, “But if diplomacy fails, we’re ready to turn to other options.”
If Iran is on target to become a nuclear-capable state in seven weeks, then the upshot of Biden’s statement is that the Biden administration is willing to live with a nuclear Iran.
There was no evidence of tension between the two leaders in their joint appearance at the Oval Office. This despite the fact that Biden’s claim that he would consider “other options” was far weaker than statements by then-President Barack Obama. At the height of his efforts to appease Iran through nuclear concessions, Obama said that the “military option is on the table.” Even worse, when US reporters asked White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki what other options are being considered, she said that at this point, no options other than diplomacy are being considered in respect to Iran’s nuclear activities.
Biden failed in Afghanistan because he apparently believed that with the unstinting support of the US media, he didn’t need to bother putting together a coherent withdrawal plan or discussing it ahead of time with US allies. He was convinced that good PR meant you don’t need a good policy. His failure in Afghanistan proves that reality is unmoved by press clippings.
Israel’s media are Bennett’s flacks. And the reporters and commentators on TV claimed that Bennett’s goal was simply to sit down with Biden. Just by sitting in the Oval Office, he showed that he is the prime minister now – not the other guy. But here too, the reality is a stubborn thing. According to Lapid and Gantz, we are but seven weeks away from Iran becoming a nuclear state. The atmospherics of the meeting had no impact on that state of affairs.
Biden’s fiasco in Kabul showed the world that he is not a trustworthy ally. In their joint appearance, even the nice promise that Iran will not get nuclear weapons, which Biden read from his cue cards could not diminish the fact that his underlying message is that he is not with Israel on Iran.
Bennett told reporters after the meeting that he accomplished what he set out to achieve. And maybe that’s true. But it will be reality not successful public relations that will decide if Israel got anything out of the trip. On the face of things, that doesn’t seem to be the case.
Caroline,
Time is running out. That is why.
@PELONI
I certainly do not have a monopoly on humour-based political assesments. I began laughing at your “hand-sock” an had a good chuckle more or less from then on. You certainly, in the vernacular, “Let ’em have it” and every word right to the mark..
Edgar, your comments are always quite prescient and still filled with pith and mirth. Indeed, there was never anything to be gained by this trip to kiss the ring of that useless marionette in the White House. I said so some time ago, though not in a way that was as entertaining as you described it here. The Hand-sock in Chief had his pre-picked laundry list of comments laid out to compliment Bennett’s own such that each of these house of card govts might find some support in exchanging signed photos with the other. Bennett was badly used here and never missed a beat as the Elmer Fudd wannabee slept thru the better half of Bennetts commentary, and all the while to benefit a fraud-founded regime that will bludgeon Israel and her Sunni allies further on every topic they can name. My favorite part was that they finally received the support of the Leader of the Free World to offer his support for the Visa program….Not Iran policy, not the recognition of Israel’s independent ability to choose her own fate for her citizens and there property or building rights, not the rescue or safe return of kidnapped political hostages. No, but the Visas, very rewarding. A carrot, as you describe, very well stated.
@Retired
I think I would change that from 1913 to about 1870 ..the Boss Tweed era.and Tammany Hall.. There are major histories written about those periods,and I myself have a biography of Frank “Costellu” The Mafia Boss who “looked after” the Lucky Luciano Mob whilst he was unavoidably “abroad”… Costello ran the Democrat Party from Tammany Hall, certainly as far as New York State was concerned, and his tentacles reached much further afield than that… It was as if it were his own business, which it actually was; if you look him up and see what influence he had on the political scene of the time. His was the ONLY iinfluence that counted….
They called him “The Prime Minister”…
@PELONI
Surely you can see that it is only politicians’ Blah-Blah. The “summit” itself was only a political formality so that The Israeli PM can say that he was invited to Washington….which shows how strong th US commitment is to Israel.
But as I wrote yesterday, in answer to an article in Arutz, my Arutz comment was almost word for word like that of Adam today. e often have the same views, and this time was one ….Th US -srael ties are SOOO strong that they have given us the gift, of a Consulate for the Arabs in Jerusalem, and made sure that no unsightly construction will distort and obscure the open country of YESHA. As well, a special gift of making sure that Iran gets the opportunity of blowing us all up with Atomics, so that we can benefit especially by arriving sooner at the Celestial Sphere.
Political Bumpf between a Bugs Bunny and a Puppet. All Bennett needed to make the scene accurate was a carrot…..and he imagined that he got that. !!
Of course he received nothing of value from Biden,
Biden doesn’t make decisions,he just takes orders from the people who own the Democrats & have done so since 1913.
As it is said in the movies,”The fix is in” & has been for a while.
Perhaps Bennett wanted to size up the situation up close rather than from far away & he succeeded in that.
He will probably knows very little more than he knew before this trip but he needed to try.
The tip off is these negotiations that are meaningless theater for Public Consumption.
After all,why negotiate for something from an adversary that can be had unilaterally without negotiating?
Why give something back in return when you don’t need to?
EDDIE I deeply sympathise wih you on your family disaster.
On the other matter, the real point of your post,,the times for an Iranan breakout into nuclear capability have varied greatly over the many years. None of them is worth a pinch of salt. I cannot see how a man like Gantz who lies with every breath he takes, both breathing in and nreathing out, could know what the Intelligense chiefs of the rest of Civilisation do not. Israel doesn’t work alone in the Inteligence field, there is much co-operation between nations.
So why is it Gantz, who must make this announcement. Especialy when the Nation is battling a new, almost overwhelming wave of China Virus.???, Is it because he has been a soldier, that he feels competent to talk about “soldierly” matters…?
The whole leadership of the US is unreliable.
The inability and/ or unwillingness of the SoD and top general to convince Joe that what he imposed made no sense is very revealing and distressing to say the least.
some time back, my spouse was given 12 weeks to live !
she’s gone, and i’m lonely !
Israel has 7 weeks to PONDER IF LIFE IS DESIRABLE !
seems like a no brainer to me !
howboutyou ?
Eddie
Unfortunately, it is hard to argue with this fairly stated critique. I hope Bennett’s “completely new strategy for blocking Iran from becoming a nuclear-armed state” is both in earnest and successful. This statement is the only possible hope that I have seen to provide any positive contenance from this summit with the crew who betrayed Kabul
Biden does not have credibility on a few fronts,Illegitimate and Afghanistan. The Left want to destroy Western Civilization, that is the end goal