There’s a question that preoccupies the minds of many, especially the academic elite and younger generations about what the US reaps from its bond with Israel. In the wake of ongoing wars in Gaza and an increasingly tense relationship with Iran, amidst the celebration of Israel’s Independence Day or Yom Ha’Atzmaut, this query appears more significant. Some people fail to recognize the perks that the US enjoys due to its strong rapport with Israel, with one of the primary ones relating to national security, reflecting in global deterrence. The militant attack by Hamas on Israel on October 7 was a wake-up call, and since then, Israel has been reshaping the political canvas of the Middle East, predominantly in favor of the US.
It is no secret that the adversaries of Israel pose a similar threat to America. Israel’s decisive and strategic actions against opponents who have targeted American lives illustrate this clearly. A case in point, looking at the horrifying incident at Tower 22, a remote military outpost located at the convergence point of Jordan, Syria, and Iraq. An Iran-backed militant group in Iraq had launched a drone assault on January 28, 2024, which circumvented the base’s aerial defenses, causing the death of three US soldiers and injuring 47.
The unfortunate incident was a foreseeable outcome, given that the Biden administration did not take any responsive action to the more than 160 consecutive attacks by Iran-backed factions on US military bases in the Middle East, following the assault by Hamas on Israel. In contrast to the lackluster Biden stance, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) delivered a strong blow to Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). On April 1, 2024, a top IRGC commander, Mohammad Reza Zahedi, was exterminated in a precise attack on an auxiliary construction near the Iranian embassy in Damascus, Syria.
Although Zahedi may not have directly authorized that specific drone launch, his elimination sent a strong message to Islamist groups backed by Iran intending to injure or take American military lives abroad. This tends to happen each time Israel manages to take down an Iranian military or intelligence figurehead. Iran indeed has been responsible for hundreds of American soldier deaths through its renowned roadside improvised explosive devices used during the Iraq War and its Lebanese proxy, Hezbollah, has been an equal accomplice.
Hezbollah’s deeds resulted in the deaths of 63 innocent civilians and 241 US Marine Corps personnel due to the US embassy bombing in Beirut in April 1983 and the Beirut barracks bombings in October 1983 respectively. Apart from al-Qaeda and the Iranian regime itself, no terror organization equals Hezbollah when it comes to shedding American blood. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) responded notably by eliminating a top-ranking Hezbollah military commander, Fuad Shukr, in Beirut on July 30, 2024.
Shukr’s notoriety extends beyond orchestrating the murder of 12 Druze children in the Golan Heights just the week before, to being instrumental in the Beirut-based barracks massacre of US Marines. The US State Department had labeled him a ‘Specially Designated Global Terrorist’ and announced a bounty of $5 million on his head for his role in the Marine barracks bombing. The IDF finally acted where decades of inaction persisted, ending the life of this terrorist on July 30, 2024.
Barely two months after this development, the IDF intensified its military campaign against Hezbollah in Lebanon following nearly a year of rocket attacks that triggered an exodus of the Israeli north. On September 20, 2024, another top Hezbollah commander, Ibrahim Aqil, was taken down in Beirut by an Israeli airstrike. Aqil, like Shukr, had been elevated to the status of a ‘Specially Designated Global Terrorist’ by the State Department primarily for his role in the fatal truck bombing at the US embassy in Beirut.
Aqil’s bounty stood at $2 million more than Shukr’s. Just a week later, the IDF accomplished the seemingly impossible and took down Hezbollah’s leader of more than 30 years, Hassan Nasrallah, in a massive explosion in Beirut. Nasrallah’s elimination occurred immediately after a fiery address by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the United Nations.
Within a few weeks during September 2024, Israel succeeded in decimating nearly all of Hezbollah’s organizational leadership. By doing so, they served justice where it was due, for the US military and the American people, in retribution for the heinous acts committed by these terrorist leaders over the years. This period in 2024 also demonstrated the IDC’s capability to focus on threats other than Hezbollah.
Less than half a day after Fuad Shukr’s assassination in Beirut, Israel also executed Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh, one of the plotters of the horrific attack that occurred on October 7, 2023, in Tehran. Maintaining this momentum, on October 16, 2024, Israel then took down Yahya Sinwar, the main architect of the Simchat Torah Massacre and the long-term leader of Hamas in Gaza Strip during a random occurrence in Rafah, Hamas’s southernmost stronghold in the Gaza Strip.
It is worth mentioning that Israel would not have been able to locate and take down Sinwar had Benjamin Netanyahu succumbed to the weak advise of Western leaders like President Biden, who were vehemently against an IDF intervention in Rafah. However, Israel’s actions throughout 2024 sent a clear and distinct message: no matter where you choose to hide, they can, and will, find you.
Such definitive display of power is the governing language of geopolitics in the Middle East. Many Westerners, including Americans, fail to grasp this reality, with the exception of Israelis who understand and appreciate it. If the U.S. could come to the same realization and take a determined stance towards Islamism, that would be an invaluable gain from the US-Israel relationship.
In commemorating Israel’s Independence Day, it must be noted that each time Israel fights the malevolent forces, it indirectly assists us all in securing a safer future. While the US struggles under the hesitant and reckless leadership of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, Israel stands firm and assertive. Indeed, there are lessons to be learned from the brave and decisive actions of Israel.
The post The Continuous Failures of Biden’s Indecisiveness in the Middle East appeared first on Real News Now.
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