Biden is dragging America into war with Iran on behalf of Israel

by Trita Parsi

Exec. VP at Quincy Institute

Biden is about to drag America into war with Iran on behalf of Israel. The disastrous way he has handled matters since Israel bombed the Iranian consulate in Damascus shows that any shift in Biden's policy on Israel was all talk, no walk. 

 

This is Biden's latest cave to Netanyahu. 

 

According to the US, it was not given an adequate heads-up for Israel's carefully calculated bombing of the Iranian consulate in Damascus. Not only was it a flagrant violation of the Vienna Convention, but it also risked - perhaps intentionally - ending the fragile truce between the US, Iran, and Iran-aligned militias in Iraq and Syria. By that, Israel directly and knowingly jeopardized American security and put US troops at risk. Indeed, Sec. Def Austin complained to Israel about this. 

 

A normal and appropriate response from the President of the United States would have been to strongly rebuke Israel for jeopardizing American security (this was not an act of self-defense by any stretch of the imagination), condemn the attack due to its violation of a key tenet of international law, and use that even-handedness to also press Iran to show further restraint. 

 

But this is not how Biden operates, even when Israel undermines US interests and security. Even though Biden knows that Netanyahu has an interest in prolonging and enlarging the war - which Biden has declared contradicts US interests. 

 

Instead, Biden refused to condemn Israel's escalation and flagrant violation of international law (another major reveal of how meaningless Biden's Rules Based Order talk is) and effectively blocked the UN Security Council from condemning it as well. 

 

But perhaps most shockingly, Biden then goes on to give Israel another bearhug and another standing greenlight by repeatedly stating that US support for Israel is "iron-clad."  

 

So, instead of rebuking Israel for jeopardizing the safety of American troops in the Middle East, Biden rewarded Israel. 

 

And by that, he deprives Israel of any incentives to avoid pushing the Middle East toward a disastrous regional war that also [if not averted] will engulf the US. 

 

Biden's "bearhug" on October 8 helped remove any Israeli inhibitions about how it would conduct the war. Now, Biden has once again helped remove any such inhibitions about Israel starting a regional war that America doesn't want and doesn't need. 

 

Netanyahu is lucky to have such a deferential American president. America is unlucky to have such a weak president.

 

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