[Salon] Biden is committing strategic malpractice in Israel-Gaza conflict



All -- Trita Parsi lays down some sensible analysis this morning in regards to the implications for a wider regional conflict:

"...With Iran and Hezbollah drawn into the conflict, the Biden administration will be under tremendous pressure to intervene militarily despite clear U.S. interest in staying out. There is little in Biden’s conduct thus far that suggests that, in this scenario, he will prioritize America’s long-term strategic interest over what is politically expedient for him in the immediate term.

Direct American military intervention in Gaza, or against Hezbollah and Iran, is all but certain to generate major attacks against U.S. troops and interests throughout the Middle East by armed groups supported by Tehran. Militias in Iraq and Yemen have already issued stern warnings of a multi-front response to any American intervention.

The White House is well aware of these escalation risks. At a meeting earlier this year between two senior American officials and a high-level representative of the Iranian government, one of the Americans warned Tehran that if it enriched uranium to 90% purity, the U.S. would strike Iran militarily. Without skipping a beat, the Iranian official responded that Iran would respond immediately by destroying fourteen American bases in the region by raining thousands of rockets on them within 24 hours.

It is in this context that the Biden administration’s refusal to call for de-escalation and a ceasefire — or to practically pressure Israel to exercise its right to defend itself within the confines of international law — is so problematic.

It is not just the moral bankruptcy of the Biden White House to stand in the way of efforts to end the crisis (shocking internal emails have revealed that State Department officials have been prohibited from using terms such as de-escalation, ceasefire, ending the bloodshed, and restoring calm). It is not the blatant disregard for human life shown by the White House when its spokesperson blasts Democratic lawmakers advocating for a ceasefire and calls them “repugnant.”....."

Please read in full here : https://responsiblestatecraft.org/biden-ceasefire-israel-gaza/


all the best,

Kelley



This archive was generated by a fusion of Pipermail (Mailman edition) and MHonArc.