The Biden administration, in a concerted effort to prevent a complete Israeli incursion into Rafah, is extending significant aid to Israel on condition of its military restraint. This assistance includes providing sensitive intelligence to assist the Israeli military in locating Hamas leaders and uncovering the group’s concealed tunnels, The Washington Post reported on Saturday, citing four sources knowledgeable about the US offers. This is reportedly intel that it withheld from Israel until this point.
This is a revelation of the US strategy that delivered two profound and extremely costly disasters in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Americans craved their Hitler-in-the-bunker moment, believing that once they cut off the snake’s head, the rest of the snake would shrivel and die. And so, on May 2, 2011, Osama bin Laden, the founder and first leader of the Islamist terrorist group al-Qaeda, was shot and killed at his compound in the Pakistani city of Abbottabad by US Navy SEALs, to the cheers of President Barack Obama and his VP Joe Biden.
But killing Bin Laden had no impact on the US’s ultimate failure in Iraq and Afghanistan, as President Biden was forced to conclude when he ordered the evacuation of Afghanistan in August 2021, leaving it as a ripe prey for the Taliban. In Iraq, the US essentially financed a gradual takeover by Iran of the Shiite majority, forcing the Americans into tightly guarded military compounds, forever under the threat of Iran’s proxy militias.
Biden told Netanyahu that Yahya Sinwar, the mastermind of the October 7 massacre, wanted an Israeli invasion because it would produce many civilian deaths and further isolate Israel politically.
The Biden administration, like most US administrations, save perhaps for Trump’s, believes in the doctrine of the good Arabs being led astray by their bad leaders. They stick by this doctrine with the religious fervor of a teenager who found Jesus. They refuse to accept that most of Gaza’s residents are Hamas supporters, as are most residents of the Palestinian Authority.
And so, Biden’s advisors are emphasizing to Israeli officials that relocating Arab civilians to desolate or war-torn areas of Gaza is not a viable solution. Instead, Israel must ensure essential infrastructure, such as shelter, food, water, medicine, and other necessities, is provided. This is to guarantee that evacuated individuals have livable conditions and aren’t left vulnerable to further famine or disease outbreaks.
Specialists from various branches of the US government are providing thorough guidance to Israeli officials on formulating and executing a humanitarian strategy. This includes detailed planning, down to specifics like the required number of tents and amount of water for designated areas. Multiple sources familiar with these discussions, speaking anonymously to safeguard privacy, have confirmed this. Aid organizations have underscored the immense challenges of safely evacuating individuals from Rafah, particularly considering the dire conditions prevailing across Gaza.
In other words, every facet of the administration is invested in inventing new ways of preventing the Israelis from pursuing the terrorists and killing every last one of them.
DOES BIDEN HATE BIBI MORE THAN HE DOES HAMAS?
As reported by The New York Times, President Biden made his stance clear to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu well before telling the public. In a tense exchange on February 11, the president cautioned against a significant attack on Rafah and hinted that ongoing US support would hinge on Israel’s actions.
This marked an unprecedented turn of events. For the first time, a president who had previously supported Israel’s actions against Hamas was essentially issuing a warning of potential policy change. Nevertheless, the White House chose to keep this threat undisclosed.
On Feb. 17, Secretary of State Antony Blinken told the president that momentum for an invasion of Rafah was building despite his warning. They decided they had to draw a line in the sand.
Since February, Biden has consistently emphasized Rafah in his discussions with Netanyahu. With the city densely populated and already overwhelmed by displaced residents, a significant strike appeared perilous, particularly after the considerable casualties incurred in the initial months of the Gaza conflict.
According to an official briefed on their conversations, Biden conveyed his stance to Mr. Netanyahu, stating, “I cannot endorse it. It would result in chaos.”
Three months later, the president has chosen to uphold his earlier warning, plunging both countries into a tense standoff. Biden halted a shipment of 3,500 bombs and pledged to obstruct the delivery of additional offensive weaponry should Israel proceed with a full-scale ground invasion of Rafah against his counsel. In response, Netanyahu has adopted a defiant stance, asserting his readiness to act even if Israel must do so independently (Netanyahu: ‘If Necessary, We Will Fight with our Fingernails’).
The way the Post and the Times describe it, the clash between Biden and Bibi is not about casualties – after all, many more Gazans, terrorists and civilians alike, have perished in the first two months of the war; and it isn’t about Israel using US weapons illegally – heck, the US is using those weapons illegally all the time. This is not about ethics, it’s about establishing control of a master over his vassal.
Dennis Ross, a Clinton Middle East hand, told the Times that many of the people around Biden “were becoming much more frustrated over time. Some of them felt it from the standpoint that Biden is taking a political hit and Bibi is reluctant to take any political hit,” and be a nice boy and leave Rafah alone. “How is it that Biden is paying a price and this guy won’t?” Ross asked.
Biden despises Netanyahu since he was humiliated back in March 2010, when, during his official visit to Jerusalem as VP, asserting the Obama administration’s “absolute, total, unvarnished commitment to Israel’s security,” Netanyahu’s Interior Ministry announced the construction of 1,600 housing units in Ramat Shlomo in eastern Jerusalem.
And then, in March 2015, Netanyahu spoke before both houses of Congress against Obama’s pending nuclear deal with Iran.
According to the WP, citing a senior administration official familiar with the discussions, the US believes Israel has not yet launched a full-scale ground invasion of Rafah, and provided assurances last Friday that it won’t launch an all-out attack on the city before evacuating close to a million civilians – 300,000 have reportedly left so far.
Meanwhile, the White House national security spokesman John F. Kirby has stated, “We’ve never told them they can’t operate in Rafah. What we’ve told them is that the way they do it matters and that we won’t support a major ground operation and invasion smashing into Rafah with, you know, multiple divisions of forces in a ham-fisted, indiscriminate way.”
Which brings up the question, can you use ham-involved metaphors in a discussion about the Jewish State?
“But eliminating the threat of Hamas?” Kirby continued. “Absolutely. They have every right to do that. And they’ll continue to have our support as they do that.”
Except in cases when the administration’s ham-fisted policymaking results in betraying Israel.
