Biden repeats Obama’s Israel mistakes

Events in Israel this week are eerily similar to what occurred in the summer of 2014. Then, the Iranian regime, buoyed by its engagements with the Obama administration, empowered and encouraged its terrorist proxy Hamas to attack Israel from Gaza so it could gauge the U.S. response. Iran must have been delighted by what transpired. After Israel used the War Reserve Stockpile Ammunition-Israel (WRSA-I) for resupply during the fighting, President Barack Obama was so enraged by the Jewish state’s audacity in defending itself that he instructed the State and Defense Departments to instate an extra round of bureaucratic review on an urgent Israeli request for additional Hellfire missiles. The message to the world could not have been clearer: The Obama administration would not act as a guarantor of Israel’s security but rather as an impediment to Israel’s obligation to protect its citizens. Startled and alarmed, Israel attempted the de-escalation demanded by President Obama and then–secretary of state John Kerry, leaving Hamas bloodied but still intact to plot future offenses. The incident convinced Tehran that they had their desired negotiating partners, and the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) was agreed to shortly thereafter, on terms highly favorable to the Iranians.

This unfortunate episode is now replaying in Israel as the new Biden administration returns to the failed policies that fueled the violence in 2014, such as creating a moral equivalence between Israeli and Palestinian actions, providing unconditional aid to the Palestinians, and attempting a rapprochement with Tehran at Israel’s expense. This approach leaves Israel uncertain of the alliance, provides Palestinian terrorist elements with sustenance, and gives the Iranian regime the impression that they have a pass to attack America’s allies with impunity.

In short, in just 100 days the Biden administration has completely undermined the extended period of relative calm and expanding peace under President Donald Trump. That happier state of affairs was achieved by his administration’s unambiguous embrace of the U.S.–Israel alliance and dismantling of the diplomatic doublespeak that kept Israel in a gray area for so long. The resulting clarity in the American position brought clarity to the region as well. Rather than inflaming the Arab street, initiatives such as moving the U.S. embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, its capital, and even the historic Abraham Accords between Israel and the UAE elicited little, if any, response.

Author
Recent Posts

Victoria Coates

Victoria Coates works on regional issues such as energy policy, countering predatory Chinese activity, expanding the historic Abraham Accords between Israel and Muslim-majority nations, and establishing a U.S.-led Middle East strategic alliance. Coates routinely appears on TV and radio outlets such as Fox News, CNN, OANN, Newsmax, The Hugh Hewitt Show, The Erick Erickson Show, The John Batchelor show, and CSP’s own Secure Freedom Radio. Her writing has appeared in Bloomberg, FoxNews.com, The Jerusalem Post, The New York Post, Newsweek, The National Interest, National Review, The New Criterion, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Examiner, and The Washington Times.

Coates previously served as the Deputy National Security Advisor for the Middle East and North Africa on the National Security Council staff and the Senior Policy Advisor to the Secretary of Energy in the Donald J. Trump administration. She also served as the National Security Advisor in the office of Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) and as Director of Research for (former) Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld’s 2011 memoir, Known and Unknown.

Coates holds a B.A. from Trinity College, a M.A. from Williams College, and a Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania, all in art history. Coates is the author and presenter of dozens of publications and conference papers worldwide on the intersections of art and history, including David’s Sling: A History of Democracy in Ten Works of Art (Encounter Books, 2016) and the forthcoming Seeing the Light: A History of Christianity in Twelve Works of Art (under contract with Encounter Books), which are part of a projected trilogy on the key tenets of Western Civilization: democracy, the Judeo-Christian moral code, and the primacy of the individual.

Latest posts by Victoria Coates (see all)

When David Met Lisa - December 20, 2021
Why the United States, not China, needs to shape Middle East policy - December 20, 2021
Victoria Coates on the confusion in Natanz - December 10, 2021

Trending

Products

Departments

Regions

Please Share: