Biden Walks Into Netanyahu's Trap

It is insane that the U.S. is rushing to support a bad client that blew up someone else’s consulate.

The Washington Post reports that Israel didn’t give the U.S. advance warning about the strike on the Iranian consulate last week that killed seven people, including a high-ranking IRGC general:

Senior Pentagon officials were frustrated that Israel did not notify the United States before conducting a strike on an Iranian site in Syria this month, an escalation that they assess increases risks to American forces in the Middle East, U.S. officials said.

When a client is trying to trap its patron into fighting a war against a regional rival, it isn’t going to give the patron a heads-up about the provocative action it plans to take. Senior military officials may feel frustrated, but it seems that their superiors aren’t paying any attention. The president reaffirmed that the U.S. commitment to Israel is “ironclad” and according to the readout of their recent call the Secretary of Defense told his Israeli counterpart that he “could count on full U.S. support to defend Israel against Iranian attacks,” so the administration is rewarding Netanyahu for his rogue, illegal action.

The U.S. shouldn’t lift a finger to support Israel if Iran retaliates, as I explain in my column this week. The Israeli strike in Damascus was a gross violation of international law and a flagrant act of aggression. If another government launched an attack like this on a U.S. or allied diplomatic facility, practically everyone in Washington would be demanding harsh reprisals. If Iran had attacked an Israeli embassy or consulate this way, American politicians would be lining up to denounce the attack as terrorism.

If Iran responds in kind, it will be reacting to an attack on their diplomatic facility. Iran will be the one defending itself in this case. The U.S. shouldn’t be helping to defend the government that launched the original attack. The U.S. certainly shouldn’t be putting its forces in harm’s way when it has no formal obligation to come to Israel’s aid. If a non-ally picks a fight with another country, that is their mistake and they can deal with the consequences.

It is insane that the U.S. is rushing to support a bad client that blew up someone else’s consulate. You couldn’t ask for a better demonstration of how dangerous and warped the relationship between our governments is. If it were almost any other government doing this, the U.S. would be condemning the attack and contemplating putting sanctions on the leaders responsible for it. In this case, the U.S. not only gives its client a pass for the attack, but it even issues threats against the country whose people were killed.

The Biden administration has encouraged the Israeli government’s lawless behavior with its unconditional backing for the war in Gaza, and it is encouraging even more with its additional pledges of support. Because the U.S. refuses to set any limits on what it is willing to tolerate, Netanyahu keeps pushing his luck to see how far he can go. The U.S. is threatening regional stability with its continued arming and shielding of its rogue client, and it is coming dangerously close to entangling itself in a new unnecessary war.

The U.S. does not have to do any of this. There is no compelling reason or vital interest at stake that requires it. The president is choosing to walk into the trap that Netanyahu set, and he will be responsible for the consequences.