October 7, 2023, was a horrifying day, and it had many worried about the United States being sucked into another conflict in the Middle East.
Over the last few months, Joe Biden has quietly made some moves that all but ensure our direct involvement in this conflict.
Talking Points….
- Putting boots on the ground
- Netanyahu offers pushback
- Analysis
We all know the United States is responsible for Israel's defense security, especially its air defense system. The war against Hamas, however, has increased the aid packages we have been sending to Israel. Some of that aid, however, now requires U.S. boots on the ground. For instance, the United States will be sending Israel our THAAD missile defense system, which must be run by U.S. personnel.
The United States only has seven Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) systems, and one of them is about to be sent to Israel along with 100 U.S. troops to man the system. This is a significant change in the policy for both countries, which was explained by EJ Kimpton, policy director at the U.S. Israel Education Association. He stated:
"Israel's mantra has been, you know, with 'Never Again,' meaning we will defend ourselves by ourselves, obviously working with allies, but that we should be able to defend our country and not be dependent upon others.
"It changes the dynamic between the U.S. and Israel in Israel's war fighting over the years. This would be the first time that U.S. personnel would be actively engaged in essentially fighting a war with Israel if Iran were to carry out additional strikes."
Trita Parsi, vice president of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, also commented that this absolutely escalates the U.S. involvement in this war, especially if we start to take casualties. She stated:
"It's inescapable to see it as anything else [than escalation], the United States is now actually sending troops. We did not do that in Ukraine.
"We may end up having American casualties, and to put soldiers in that type of vulnerable situation for something that is not the defense of the United States itself, I think, is a very serious step taken by the administration."
While Biden is giving Israel more aid, at the same time, Biden officials are publicly telling Israel to dial down the attacks against Hezbollah and Hamas. For example, Defense Secretary Austin reportedly told his counterpart for Israel that it needed to pursue a diplomatic resolution with Hezbollah, which is anchored on the Lebanese border.
Prime Minister Netanyahu did not take kindly to Austin's walking orders, and he never has. Anytime the Biden administration has tried to pressure Netanyahu for a peaceful solution, he has significantly pushed back, putting Biden between a rock and a hard place. In this case, Netanyahu stated:
"We listen to the opinions of the United States, but we will make our final decisions based on our national interest."
This has created a significant mess for Biden and Harris in terms of being elected. There is a far-left element in this country that is clearly sympathetic to Palestine and these terrorist organizations that generally vote for Democrats. That group has been clear that as long as the United States is helping Israel, they will not vote for Harris in this election.
Do I think Trump can keep his promise of having these conflicts ended on his first day in office? Absolutely not, but I do believe they would be wrapped up rather quickly. Trump will pressure both Putin and Zelensky to settle their conflict, and Trump and Netanyahu are buddies, so I would expect Trump to give Netanyahu the green light to do whatever it takes to end Hamas and Hezbollah. Still, I would also expect Trump to give him a definitive window to make it happen.
