Thank you for sharing what seems to be one of the earliest accounts of what was happening behind the scenes during this war. Unfortunately, Ilan, your dual loyalty is palpable. The US never really loses its leverage with Israel. We just choose not to use it, primarily because our government is full of dual loyalists who put Israel’s interests over our own. Second, Hamas, which was sustained by Israel for the past 15 years would’ve negotiated a ceasefire within the first 2 months of the war. They had nothing to gain by delaying.
The Biden Administration failed to seize the opportunity to capitalize on Biden’s popularity amongst Israel’s public.
What exactly was Biden’s apparent state of mind at the time?
PBS November 21, 2024: “Today, the world's top war crimes court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for what the court called crimes against humanity for intentionally depriving Gazans of food and directing attacks against civilians.”
Statement from President Joe Biden, November 21, 2024, on Warrants Issued by the International Criminal Court: “The ICC issuance of arrest warrants against Israeli leaders is outrageous.”
Almost anyone, anywhere in the world, with a smartphone could easily find perfectly clear and irrefutable evidence of extensive war crimes committed by the Israeli military against the people of Gaza.
Was Biden unable or unwilling to see that? And/or, was he somehow kept from seeing it, by those who surrounded him in the White House? Were you unable to grasp the level of destruction being wrought on Gaza by the IDF? And, as Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs, what could you personally have done better?
Of course the correct strategy would have been to apply suffocating pressure on Netanyahu. And the right time to do that would have been at the start of December 2023, when the first hostage deal broke down. That deal should never have been allowed to end, and Biden missed a golden opportunity to force an end to the war. Every Israeli knows that Bibi’s only strategic objective is self preservation. It does not seem that Biden operated with this in mind. Once you realize that Netanyahu is exactly the same as Trump in the aspects of narcissism and self aggrandizement, your strategy needs to shift accordingly, and Biden’s did not. Quite simply, publicly he gave Bibi the respect that Bibi should not ever be given.
Some folks will say that an early cease fire would have prevented the demise of Hezbollah and the weakening of Iran. But in fact the top Israeli brass wanted to strike Hezbollah very early on, around October 11, and Bibi (and perhaps Biden too) prevented this. Bottom line, despite the best intentions, Biden completely failed on this war, even if it was “his deal” that is now being implemented.
Good article, I enjoy the author's pespective. I also think the author could reach back abit further in history and recount his thoughts on the treatment of Gaza by Israel over the last 10 > 15 years and explore Israel's policies that led to Hamas's increased influence in Gaza. This did not begin with the Oct attack.
You think since 1948, when Israel became a State, and slowly encroached year after year on Palestinian land, war after war, truce after truce, Biden could prevent this? I heard Netenyahu say, he wants every Palestinian dead.
You caught me completely by surprised by your personal reply (via email) to my comment as well as how quickly your responded and even more so by the inclusion of the link to your previous article. I have downloaded it and plan on reading it over the week-end.
As you point out so well. the conflict in the Middle East is both complex and complicated. I can appreciate how difficult it must be to work on a equitable solution that balances past wrongs and mis-steps on both sides. Your writings get past the bumper sticker slogans & sound bits and revels the "nuts & bolts" work that illustrates the obstacles facing real progress.
Thank you and I look forward to learning more. I find your perspective fascinating.
Was really Biden mentally strong enough to be able to take decision? sorry if it seems provocative it snot the intention here , from the public point of view it seems unlikely . How state department weighed into the decision ? Will we understand why so many destruction were allowed , it was inevitably lead to the current situation of the likelyhood of an expulsion .
Thank you for sharing what seems to be one of the earliest accounts of what was happening behind the scenes during this war. Unfortunately, Ilan, your dual loyalty is palpable. The US never really loses its leverage with Israel. We just choose not to use it, primarily because our government is full of dual loyalists who put Israel’s interests over our own. Second, Hamas, which was sustained by Israel for the past 15 years would’ve negotiated a ceasefire within the first 2 months of the war. They had nothing to gain by delaying.
The Biden Administration failed to seize the opportunity to capitalize on Biden’s popularity amongst Israel’s public.
What exactly was Biden’s apparent state of mind at the time?
PBS November 21, 2024: “Today, the world's top war crimes court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for what the court called crimes against humanity for intentionally depriving Gazans of food and directing attacks against civilians.”
Statement from President Joe Biden, November 21, 2024, on Warrants Issued by the International Criminal Court: “The ICC issuance of arrest warrants against Israeli leaders is outrageous.”
Almost anyone, anywhere in the world, with a smartphone could easily find perfectly clear and irrefutable evidence of extensive war crimes committed by the Israeli military against the people of Gaza.
Was Biden unable or unwilling to see that? And/or, was he somehow kept from seeing it, by those who surrounded him in the White House? Were you unable to grasp the level of destruction being wrought on Gaza by the IDF? And, as Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs, what could you personally have done better?
Of course the correct strategy would have been to apply suffocating pressure on Netanyahu. And the right time to do that would have been at the start of December 2023, when the first hostage deal broke down. That deal should never have been allowed to end, and Biden missed a golden opportunity to force an end to the war. Every Israeli knows that Bibi’s only strategic objective is self preservation. It does not seem that Biden operated with this in mind. Once you realize that Netanyahu is exactly the same as Trump in the aspects of narcissism and self aggrandizement, your strategy needs to shift accordingly, and Biden’s did not. Quite simply, publicly he gave Bibi the respect that Bibi should not ever be given.
Some folks will say that an early cease fire would have prevented the demise of Hezbollah and the weakening of Iran. But in fact the top Israeli brass wanted to strike Hezbollah very early on, around October 11, and Bibi (and perhaps Biden too) prevented this. Bottom line, despite the best intentions, Biden completely failed on this war, even if it was “his deal” that is now being implemented.
Good article, I enjoy the author's pespective. I also think the author could reach back abit further in history and recount his thoughts on the treatment of Gaza by Israel over the last 10 > 15 years and explore Israel's policies that led to Hamas's increased influence in Gaza. This did not begin with the Oct attack.
I will write something about Gaza’s history in the future. But also wrote this 60 page report back in 2018 that gets at a lot of this. https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/files.cnas.org/backgrounds/documents/CNAS-Report-Gaza-final-v2-web2.pdf
You think since 1948, when Israel became a State, and slowly encroached year after year on Palestinian land, war after war, truce after truce, Biden could prevent this? I heard Netenyahu say, he wants every Palestinian dead.
Ilan,
You caught me completely by surprised by your personal reply (via email) to my comment as well as how quickly your responded and even more so by the inclusion of the link to your previous article. I have downloaded it and plan on reading it over the week-end.
As you point out so well. the conflict in the Middle East is both complex and complicated. I can appreciate how difficult it must be to work on a equitable solution that balances past wrongs and mis-steps on both sides. Your writings get past the bumper sticker slogans & sound bits and revels the "nuts & bolts" work that illustrates the obstacles facing real progress.
Thank you and I look forward to learning more. I find your perspective fascinating.
John H. McNally
Was really Biden mentally strong enough to be able to take decision? sorry if it seems provocative it snot the intention here , from the public point of view it seems unlikely . How state department weighed into the decision ? Will we understand why so many destruction were allowed , it was inevitably lead to the current situation of the likelyhood of an expulsion .
No, we know