OPINION:
President Biden has summoned Israeli negotiators to a meeting after National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s insistence that opposing Israel’s invasion of the southern Gaza Strip is equal to opposing the defeat of Hamas “nonsense.” Mr. Biden has manufactured a crisis within a crisis as Israel fights for its life.
This is a direct result of Mr. Biden’s ham-handed attempt to force Israel into a bad cease-fire deal for Gaza. After that failed resoundingly, Mr. Biden has tried his best to upend Mr. Netanyahu’s democratically elected government.
It all seems familiar to those who remember the Superman Bizarro comics of the 1960s. The good guys are bad, the bad guys are good, and everything is the opposite of what it should be.
On March 4, Benny Gantz, Mr. Netanyahu’s principal political opponent and most likely successor, was welcomed to the White House for meetings with Vice President Kamala Harris. Mr. Netanyahu opposed the meetings, but Mr. Biden doesn’t respect him or his wishes.
Mr. Gantz, a member of Mr. Netanyahu’s war Cabinet, has supported the latter’s plan to attack Rafah if Hamas’ hostages are not released, which they haven’t been.
According to the White House readout of the meeting with Ms. Harris, “The Vice President and Minister Gantz discussed the situation in Rafah and the need for a credible and implementable humanitarian plan prior to contemplating any major military operation there given the risks to civilians.”
That is, Ms. Harris pushed Mr. Gantz to block Mr. Netanyahu’s plan to use military force to clear southern Gaza of Hamas and its leaders.
Mr. Netanyahu has reportedly approved a plan for a military campaign encompassing Rafah and southern Gaza. That final attack on Hamas must and will proceed.
Showing support for Hamas and Mr. Netanyahu’s rival is not enough for Mr. Biden. In a March 14 speech on the Senate floor, Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer called for new elections in Israel with the obvious goal of throwing Mr. Netanyahu out of office. He added, “As a lifelong supporter of Israel, it has become clear to me: The Netanyahu coalition no longer fits the needs of Israel after Oct. 7.”
The next day, Mr. Biden expressed strong support for Mr. Schumer, saying, “He made a good speech, and I think he expressed serious concern shared not only by him but by many Americans.” Mr. Netanyahu’s popularity polls got a positive bounce because of Mr. Schumer’s statement and Mr. Biden’s endorsement of it.
That same day, March 15, Mr. Biden reissued a sanctions waiver allowing Iraq to buy $10 billion more in energy from Iran. Yes, the same Iran that funded, armed and helped plan Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel. In that attack, 32 Americans were killed, and at least eight were taken hostage — five of whom are still being held by Hamas.
If Mr. Biden were serious about getting the American hostages back from Hamas, he would be demanding their release instead of bashing Mr. Netanyahu and getting Mr. Schumer to do the same. He would be tightening our sanctions against Iran instead of waiving them as he did, putting another $10 billion in Tehran’s hands.
Mr. Biden wouldn’t be trying to force Israel into a cease-fire that would obviously leave Hamas in control of Gaza. But this is the Biden Bizarro World, where everything is backward.
If Hamas retains control of Gaza, or even if its leaders survive, Hamas will have won, and Israel will have been defeated.
Even our intelligence community has apparently bought into Mr. Biden’s anti-Netanyahu policy.
We know how our intelligence community spared no effort to smear and spy on Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign. We have been assured frequently that its people and procedures have been reformed to prevent such actions in the future and that all is well. Well, maybe not.
The Annual Threat Assessment of the U.S. Intelligence Community was dated Feb. 5 and released weeks later by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.
The document says: “Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has publicly stated his opposition to postwar diplomacy with the Palestinian Authority toward territorial compromise. Netanyahu’s viability as leader as well as his governing coalition of far-right and ultraorthodox parties that pursued hardline policies on Palestinian and security issues may be in jeopardy. Distrust of Netanyahu’s ability to rule has deepened and broadened across the public from its already high levels before the war and we expect large protests demanding his resignation and new elections. A different, more moderate government is a possibility.”
That is a perfectly gratuitous and entirely political statement. But it found its way into the Annual Threat Assessment, which, by the way, contains not a word about Russia’s plan to orbit nuclear-armed satellites to destroy ours in time of war. No need to mention that because it might embarrass Mr. Biden, who is doing nothing to stop Russia’s plan.
Intelligence is not supposed to be political, but this report is important. Like all major reports, the assessment would have gone through several rounds of White House edits. If Mr. Biden and his minions continue their apparent manipulation of intelligence, we may see a repeat of something along the lines of the 2016 Russia hoax. And Israel could lose the war Hamas started.
• Jed Babbin is a national security and foreign affairs columnist for The Washington Times and contributing editor for The American Spectator.
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