After Tuesday’s missile attack, he is already telling Israel the targets it can’t hit in self-defense.
WSJ, OPINION Oct. 2, 2024 5:57 pm
The day after U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin called for a diplomatic solution between Israel and Lebanese Hezbollah, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited the U.N. General Assembly to “set the record straight” regarding some speakers’ “lies and slanders.”
Well, that was fast. Iran fired 181 ballistic missiles on Israel Tuesday, and a day later President Biden was already telling Israel what it shouldn’t do in response. Asked Wednesday if he’d support an Israeli strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities, the President said “The answer is no.”
He also hauled in the leaders of the G-7 democracies to add to the pre-emptive pressure on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “We will be discussing with the Israelis what they are going to do. All seven of us agree that they have a right to respond but they should respond in proportion,” he told reporters after a G-7 conference call. “We are giving them advice. I will talk to Bibi relatively soon.”
This is extraordinary. Even before he talks with Mr. Netanyahu, the President engages in public lobbying aimed at blocking a sovereign state and American ally from deciding on its own what is the best response to a direct military attack on its territory. Iran attacked Israel for the second time in six months, but Mr. Biden tells Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei that the U.S. will help the regime protect its most prized and threatening military asset.
This is the thinking that has led to the collapse of U.S. deterrence on Mr. Biden’s watch. Enemies rely on him to come to their defense by restraining allies from responding to aggression. Mr. Biden didn’t even wait to keep Iran guessing.
What happened to the “severe consequences” for Iran the Administration promised Tuesday? On Wednesday Mr. Biden mentioned new sanctions, but he won’t even enforce the oil sanctions already on the books.
The question is why Mr. Biden wants to deter Israel, rather than Iran. Perhaps he fears further military exchanges before the U.S. election, but that leaves control over a decision to escalate in the hands of the enemy. That thinking hasn’t stopped attacks by Iran and its proxies. Israel has made its biggest military and strategic gains when it has ignored such U.S. advice, as it has by attacking Hezbollah in Lebanon.
All evidence suggests that Iran continues to move closer to building a nuclear weapon it could deliver on ballistic missiles. If that happens, the world becomes far more dangerous and Israel far more vulnerable. If Mr. Biden won’t take this opportunity to destroy Iran’s nuclear program, the least he can do is not stop Israel from doing the job for its own self-preservation.
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