Biden’s ‘Don’t’ Strategy
Joe Biden’s Iran approach: Last night, the Israeli military struck about 200 targets in and around Beirut, including at least one medical building. This was following Tuesday’s attack on Israel from Iran, via almost 200 ballistic missiles; Hezbollah, the terrorist group Israel is fighting in Lebanon, is backed by Iran. It remains to be seen what type of response Israel will go with when fighting Iran directly, but in the meantime, the military seems intent on continuing its campaign in Lebanon. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu added yesterday that Israel is engaged in “a tough war against Iran’s axis of evil.”
President Joe Biden’s response to all of this was to publicly signal that he would not support Israel if they decided to strike Iran’s nuclear weapons development sites.
Back in April, when Iran and Israel exchanged missile strikes that were largely symbolic, Israel chose to strike near Isfahan, in northern Iran, close to Iran’s nuclear facilities. This time around, top Israeli officials are signaling that they’re considering a similar approach, though possibly more drastic.
“Israel may respond to Iran’s major Tuesday ballistic missile attack by striking strategic infrastructure, such as gas or oil rigs, or by directly targeting Iran’s nuclear sites, media reports said on Wednesday, citing Israeli officials,” reports The Times of Israel. “Iran has significantly advanced its nuclear program since the Trump administration pulled out of the 2015 nuclear deal,” reports The Wall Street Journal. “It is the only non-nuclear weapons country to produce 60% enriched uranium and has enough near-weapons-grade nuclear fuel for around three bombs.” In other words: Iran is close to having such capacity, and it is in Israel’s best interest to attempt to cripple such infrastructure.
“The answer is no,” said Biden, when asked if he would support an Israeli response targeted at the nuclear sites. “All seven of us agree that they have a right to respond, but they have to respond proportionally,” the president said, referring to the group of seven countries (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the U.K., and the U.S.).
This is not so different from the Biden/Harris strategy that’s been making the rounds: The policy of simply telling Hezbollah and its Iranian backers “Don’t!” As in, “Don’t escalate your attacks on Israel.” (Just one problem: They keep doing so.)
I’m in total shock that Biden and Harris telling Iran “don’t” didn’t work pic.twitter.com/2OB9Z4IS5q
— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) October 1, 2024
“Netanyahu’s government—along with other Israeli leaders—has threatened reprisals against Iran. Yair Lapid, an Israeli opposition leader and former prime minister, said Iran must pay ‘a significant and heavy’ price, while Naftali Bennett, one of Netanyahu’s rivals, called for Israel to ‘destroy Iran’s nuclear program, its central energy facilities,'” reports Bloomberg.Â
Domestic politics implications:Â Perhaps the most awkward thing about the timing is that Biden’s handpicked replacement jockeying for the role of president has so very little foreign policy experience. The election between former President Donald Trump and Vic
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