In the past year, after Hamas’s deadly attack and the launch of Israel’s counteroffensive, voices in the United States and other countries began calling for ceasefire negotiations.
Hamas head Yahya Sinwar, whose whereabouts are currently unknown, submitted a brazen list of demands, including the restoration of Hamas, and a return to the situation on October 6, while refusing to return all the hostages.
International and Israeli media featured commentators and experts advising the government not to allow the IDF to enter Rafah and take control of the Philadelphi Corridor. Egypt, which allowed the smuggling of weapons to terrorist organizations in Gaza, both above and below ground, protested the plan, and Western diplomats, along with our great friend the US, warned Israel of its consequences.
Politicians and retired senior officers, whose views shift like the wind, tried to intimidate us. Israeli government members respectfully listened to senior US officials but understood that Israeli and American interests are not always aligned. Naturally, US President Joe Biden deserves our thanks for his warning to Iran and Hezbollah not to join Hamas while his country was on the eve of an election, as well as for the massive US aid to Israel. But it must be noted that a strong Israel is in America’s interest, too.
Nevertheless, throughout Israel’s wars, the US has not allowed the Jewish state the decisive victory needed to fully deter its enemies. Each conflict ended in Israeli victory and some sort of agreement, but none created clear, unequivocal deterrence for our adversaries.
Why does the US try to stop Israel at the last minute?
A remarkable story, once under American censorship, confirms that the US was ready to attack Israel in May 1967, a month before the Six Day War. The American military had been tasked with striking Israel if it attacked Egypt first. This information comes from a classified study by the Institute for Defense Analyses (IDA) in Virginia of which only 30 copies were distributed under the “Top Secret” classification. The command that planned to attack Israel was called Strike Command and was disbanded in 1971. Israel, as we know, preemptively destroyed the Egyptian Air Force while still on the ground, and the Six Day War began, canceling the planned strike on Israel.
The question is: Why does the US always try to stop us at the last minute? The answer lies in the fact that while there is still an understanding that Israel is a strategic asset, there are also circles within the US government and academia that see Israel as more of a burden than an asset.
Israel’s intelligence services are held in high regard and considered on a par with those of Western countries such as the UK, Germany, France, and the US. Yet America lacks the intelligence capabilities in the region that Israel provides and always makes available to the US.
Although the Yom Kippur War in 1973 cracked the image of the “all-powerful Israeli intelligence,” Israel had since rebuilt its military and intelligence reputation – until October 7. In a cynical world driven primarily by interests, the blow Hamas dealt Israel that day created a severe rupture in global perceptions of Israel and its intelligence. The ongoing war, without a clear resolution – despite the significant power imbalance between Hamas and Israel – has not helped restore Israeli deterrence.
Hamas, funded by Qatar, Iran, and the European Union, was channeling its financial resources into terror tunnels and advanced weaponry, its leaders purchased businesses and real estate globally, shuttling between luxury suites in Turkey and Qatar.
In Israel, most of the intelligence focus was directed north at Hezbollah, considered the more dangerous enemy. Israel’s additional failures were underestimating the enemy’s weaponry and its own dependence on American arms supplies.
The West has been asleep
During a US Congressional hearing, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said that the United States was reconsidering its immediate aid to Israel, particularly in light of its actions in Rafah. According to Austin, the administration has not yet decided to stop aid but is currently “delaying” the shipment of precision bombs meant for Israel. This delayed shipment includes about 3,500 JDAM bombs (Joint Direct Attack Munition guidance kits that convert unguided bombs into smart, precision-guided munitions). In the hearing, Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham reprimanded Secretary Austin for delaying the arms shipments: “Israel’s enemies want to kill all the Jews, and you’re preventing them from getting the weapons? This is Hiroshima on steroids. Give Israel the weapons to fight the war they cannot afford to lose.”
Although President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris publicly praised the assassination of top Hezbollah terrorist Hassan Nasrallah, privately, according to The New York Times, they expressed frustration that Israel had not received US approval for the dramatic move and critical equipment needed for missile precision was delayed.
Amid the intense disagreements between the two countries during the Yom Kippur War, the US used arms supply as leverage to force Israel to accept an interim agreement with Egypt. It is also worth noting that Germany, Israel’s second-largest arms supplier, quietly reduced its arms export licenses to Israel by almost 80%, including those needed for missile defense.
Israel recovered from its intelligence failures and began striking Hezbollah. The assassinations of the terror organization’s senior leaders, using methods unprecedented in the history of warfare, have driven its heads into a panic, causing them to discard their communication devices and hampering coordination during the war.
While the US and the Western world have been asleep, Iran has continued to accelerate its nuclear program. Using North Korean technology, it is advancing missile systems capable of carrying nuclear warheads. Iran’s air force is practically non-existent, and it knows it cannot compete with Israel’s airstrike capabilities. Hence, it is preparing a diabolical plan to destroy Israel by surrounding it with a ring of fire, combining missile and drone strikes from Iran, Yemen, Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon.
Despite US opposition, Israel has launched a ground offensive, so far successfully destroying a significant portion of Hezbollah’s military capabilities and more than half its missiles. Israel’s ability to eliminate Hezbollah’s leaders, including Nasrallah, and severely damage strategic facilities in Yemen and Iraq, sends Iran a clear message: “Do not dare attack Israel again.” Iran made a grave mistake in assuming Israel would respond in a limited manner to the second massive missile barrage.
October 7 was a severe blow to Israel’s image and eroded its deterrence. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government understand that restoring the standing of the Jewish state as a strategic asset is essential and requires a clear and decisive victory.
The writer is CEO of Radios 100FM, honorary consul general of Nauru, deputy dean of the Consular Corps, president of the Israeli Radio Communication Association, and chairman of the Association of Regional Radio Stations.