Juan Cole 10/09/2024
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Joe Biden has many achievements as a domestic president, including the biggest investment ever made in green energy and fighting climate change. Whatever one thinks of how he has handled the Ukraine crisis, he certainly has been decisive and has galvanized allies to act alongside him. But on the Middle East, Biden is the worst president since George W. Bush. The odd thing is that from all accounts Biden knows what Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is up to, and he curses him out like an old drunken sailor. But when it comes to action, Biden has been AWOL.
CNN gleaned the following salty quotes from Bob Woodward’s new book, War:
In April, after Netanyahu had crowded nearly two million people into the small southern Gaza province of Rafah, the Israeli prime minister told Biden he wanted to invade Rafah, as well.
“We have to go into Rafah,” Netanyahu said.
“Bibi, you’ve got no strategy.” Biden responded.
Biden was likely saying that Netanyahu had no vision for what a post-war Gaza would look like, and how to shape it in Israel’s interest. The Israeli PM only had tactics — invading neighborhoods and destroying them, constantly expelling Palestinians from their temporary refuges to other places, most of them in rubble and without adequate food, water or medical care. Those tactics are severe violations of international law, but Biden seemed to think that the bigger problem with them was that they were not accompanied by any grand strategy.
After Netanyahu tried to get Iran’s goat by bombing its embassy in Damascus and Iran’s response with a missile launch was ineffectual, Biden told Netanyahu to “take the win.” Netanyahu struck Iran in a minor operation to save face. Biden said he knew Netanyahu would do something to Iran, but to pressure him into a light retaliation he said he had told him to do nothing.
Biden seemed to think he could rein in Netanyahu by just jawboning him. But he realized when the Israelis defied the US president by invading Rafah in May that Netanyahu had just been shining him on with denials.
CNN says Biden said in private after Netanyahu crossed the red line and invaded Rafah, “He’s a fucking liar.”
He also said that spring, “That son of a bitch, Bibi Netanyahu, he’s a bad guy. He’s a bad fucking guy!”