Here we see what may partially be the effects of age, but more importantly, of the deep problem with US President Biden’s long-established uncritical attitude toward the government of Israel.
If you’re wondering what the term “widening war” might mean, Richard Haass explains:
This weekend’s attack on a U.S. military facility near the Jordanian–Syrian border crossed at least two lines previous attacks had not. First, it resulted in the deaths of three American servicemen and injuries to some three dozen more. And second, the armed drone targeted U.S. troops in Jordan rather than Iraq or Syria, signifying a widening of the battlefield and a willingness to take on a moderate Sunni Arab country closely aligned with the United States. (2) [my emphasis]Haass himself thinks some kind of retaliatory strikes by the US are called for. But he cautions against following the chronic warmongers’ advice to attack Iran. He notes, in line with the expected ultra-establishment restraint:
Once the dust settles, the Biden administration should take a fresh look at its force posture in the region and weigh whether the benefits of its presence justify the risks as well as the opportunity cost worldwide. It may be that the presence makes sense, but this should be assessed, not assumed.He doesn’t go far as to directly say, stop tying US foreign and military policy to an exceptionally bad actor like Bibi Netanyahu. But one might draw that conclusion anyway.
France 24 reports on the risks of a wider war. (3) One of the panelists is from the reliably hawkish One of the commentators is from the reliably hawkish Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD). It’s no surprise that his advice to the US is escalate, escalate, escalate. War with Iran is one of their key goals. (4)
We’re currently getting news about positive developments on a hostage deal to involved some kind of ceasefire. Given Netanyahu’s actions so far, I’ll believe it when I see it happen.
There have even been reports that the Biden Administration is threatening Netanyahu that maybe, possibly, the US might reduce some of the armaments it’s sending to supply his war on the civilians of Gaza. I’ll believe that when it actually happens.
But the US and a number of other countries are cutting aid to UNRWA, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, which is responsible for keeping the population of Gaza, almost all of whom have been displaced from their homes at this point, from starving. (5)
Actions speak louder than press leaks.
The nominal justification is claims by Israel’s government that a few of the 13,000 or so employees of UNRWA in Gaza are somehow connected to Gaza. Since Hamas has been the local administrative government in Gaza for years, pretty much everyone in Gaza is somehow connected to Hamas. OXFAM International warns:
Oxfam, together with 19 other aid organizations, is deeply concerned and outraged that some of the largest donors have suspended funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), the main aid provider for millions of Palestinians in Gaza and the region. The aid cuts come amid a rapidly worsening humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza.
The suspension of funding by donor states will impact life-saving assistance for over two million civilians, over half of whom are children, who rely on UNRWA aid in Gaza. The population faces starvation, looming famine and an outbreak of disease under Israel’s continued indiscriminate bombardment and deliberate deprivation of aid in Gaza. (6) [my emphasis]
I certainly would not want to understate the ugliness of this further act of complicity by the United States in Netanyahu’s gruesome war on the civilians in Gaza. The US Republican Party is certainly offering no alternative. Their party’s uncritical support for Netanyahu’s policies is a key commitment to their Christian Zionist base voters. But Biden’s policy on this is horrible, period.
But at least the Secretary of State recognizes the US is on the verge of potentially much bigger trouble:
“I think it’s very important to note that this is an incredibly volatile time in the Middle East,” Blinken said at a press event with visiting NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg this afternoon. “I would argue that we have not seen a situation as dangerous as the one we’re facing now across the region since at least 1973, and arguably even before that.” (7) [my emphasis]If our mainstream media were more robust and news-oriented, we would have been seeing prominent updates for years about the extent of the US military deployments in the Middle East. Reuters reports:
The unmanned aerial drone attack that killed three U.S. service members and wounded dozens in northeastern Jordan on Sunday is the latest by Iran-aligned militia groups in Iraq and Syria.This is a chronic but dubious practice of the US military, to never want to fully disengage militarily from a country with which the US has been at war. It’s a practice that has a lot of potential for “mission creep,” an expansion of the original mission that provides new reasons for presence of the soldiers. And new reasons why they should not be withdrawn. Since the government of Netanyahu is so reckless and so contemptuous of actual US security concerns, leaving US troops scattered around the Middle East gives enemies of Israel a chance to strike at them. Netanyahu doesn’t care. He’s been trying for years to goad the US into attacking Iran. Sucking the US into a wider war is one of his key policy goals.
The groups oppose Israel's campaign in Gaza, which has killed more than 26,000, and hold the U.S. partly responsible. They have attacked U.S. troops in the region over 150 times since the war started in response to Hamas's October 7 attack in Israel that killed about 1,200. About 2,500 U.S. troops are stationed in Iraq and 900 in Syria to prevent a resurgence of Islamic State militants. (8) [my emphasis]
Netanyahu is under major political pressure at home over the hostages held by Hamas and by smaller groups in Gaza. As Laura Rozen further reports, “Not a single hostage has been freed alive since the pause broke down in November, though some Israeli officials have previously insisted that their military pressure was helping the hostage release talks.“
Meanwhile:
In front of an impassioned audience of thousands of right-wing activists, 11 government ministers and 15 coalition lawmakers pledged Sunday night to rebuild Jewish Israeli settlements in the heart of the Gaza Strip, with some also encouraging the emigration of the Palestinian population after the war with Hamas is over.Amos Harel cautions:
Speaking amid a carnival-like atmosphere at the Jerusalem International Convention Center, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, the leader of the ultranationalist Religious Zionism party, extolled the virtues of creating new settlements, declaring: “God willing, we will settle and we will be victorious.” (9)
It's also not clear how flexible Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is prepared to be. The far-right parties in his governing coalition will oppose any hostage deal that includes major concessions – ending the war and releasing thousands of Palestinian prisoners. But Netanyahu's continued evasion of anything that offers even a hint of a diplomatic horizon – an agreement on Gaza's future, recognition (even if only implied) of the two-state vision, a hostage deal – will increase the friction with the administration in Washington, whose patience is clearly running out.Harel also reminds us how dysfunctional how the Netanyahu government whose war policies the Biden Administration is backing is:
On Sunday, the White House denied an NBC News report that it had decided to slow weapons deliveries to Israel. In fact, the opposite has occurred. Last week, a delegation headed by Defense Ministry director general Eyal Zamir reached agreements with the Biden administration on speeding up the arms deliveries. (10) [my emphasis]
A series of crazy performances from the right side of the political map have made clear the extent to which progress in the war in the Gaza Strip is being negatively affected by the government's dysfunction.If Netanyahu succeeds in sucking the United States into an outright war with Iran, the damage he’s doing will extend far beyond the Gaza Strip.
Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Herzl Halevi keeps warning cabinet members that their failure to translate the military's achievements against Hamas into the start of a diplomatic process is sabotaging fulfillment of the war's goals. One example occurred Monday, when IDF forces returned to the Shati refugee camp and other places in northern Gaza to root out Hamas' efforts to restore signs of its rule and rebuild its armed presence.
All this is happening due to Netanyahu's vehement refusal to discuss postwar arrangements in Gaza. The vacuum created on the ground is being filled by Hamas.
Notes:
(1) Larison, Daniel (2024): The Costs of Biden's Backing for the War in Gaza Keep Increasing. Eunomia 01/29/2024. <https://substack.com/home/post/p-141139919?source=queue> (Accessed: 2024-29-01).
(2) Haass, Richard (2024): Special Edition: Retaliation (January 29, 2024). Home & Away 01/29/2024. (Accessed: 2024-29-01).
(3) Biden in a bind: Can the United States contain Gaza spillover? FRANCE 24 English YouTube channel 01/29/2024. (Accessed: 2024-30-01).
(4) Carden, James (2020): Will This Billionaire-Funded ThinkTank Get Its War With Iran? The Nation 01/08/2020.
(5) Al-Mughrabi, Nidal and Farge, Emma (2024): UN urges reversal of funding pause for Palestinian refugee agency. Reuters 01/28/2024.
(6) OXFAM International (2024): UNRWA funding cuts threaten Palestinian lives in Gaza and region, say 20 NGOs. 01/29/2024. <https://www.oxfam.org/en/press-releases/unrwa-funding-cuts-threaten-palestinian-lives-gaza-and-region-say-20-ngos>
(7) Rozen, Laura (2024): U.S. struggles to contain Gaza conflict, as Qatar PM sees progress in hostage release talks. Diplomatic 01/29/2024. <https://diplomatic.substack.com/p/us-struggles-to-contain-gaza-conflict> (Accessed: 2024-30-01).
(8) Iran-backed attacks on US troops in the Middle East since Oct. 7. Reuters 01/28/2024.
(9) Sharon, Jeremy (2024): Cabinet members call to resettle Gaza, encourage Gazans to leave, at jubilant conference. Times of Israel 01/29/2024.
(10) Harel, Amos (2024): Despite American and Qatari Optimism, Israel-Hamas Deal Remains Elusive. Haaretz 01/30/2024.
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