Netanyahu Set Out to Be Churchill, and Met His Gallipoli in Iran - Opinion
Benjamin Netanyahu has landed in a political predicament due to his failure in the war with Iran greater than any he has faced since his 2009 return to power. The prime minister believes that he is the modern incarnation of Winston Churchill and the Iranians are the successors to the Nazis. The February 28 attack was meant to cement his place in history as a prophet who warned of the threat and succeeded in rallying the American superpower to eliminate it. Netanyahu indeed emerged as Churchill – but instead of the hero of World War II's Battle of Britain, as the failed first lord of the admiralty from World War I, who led to the military disaster at Gallipoli.
Netanyahu failed in Iran not only because after the war last June he promised that the Iranian nuclear and missile threat had been eliminated for generations to come, and not because of the false hopes he spread for the fall of the threatening regime in Tehran and its replacement by the late Shah of Iran's amicable son. Nor was it due to defeats on the battlefield or grave civilian losses or damage, On the contrary, the military performance on the Iranian front and the coordination with the U.S. military were flawless, and Netanyahu deserves credit for them just as he deserves castigation for the October 7 calamity.
Ironically, in his attempt to fulfill his life's ambition he undermined the secret of his political charm. When he tried to be what he is not (Churchill), he lost what he is (Bibi). For years he enjoyed public favor far beyond his "base," due to his caution in using force and his aversion to risk. His political rivals mock him as a coward, but most Israelis preferred the illusion of normalcy of "managing the conflict" over military adventurism. The October 7 Hamas attack shattered the illusion that Netanyahu sold Israelis. He was cornered, and the longer the war dragged on the more risks he took: destroying Gaza, assassinating Hassan Nasrallah, bombing Iranian nuclear facilities with the help of Donald Trump, conquering territory in Syria and tacitly backing Jewish terrorists in the West Bank.
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All of these steps, and the public backing he received from the current U.S. president, reinforced his megalomania. The man who once settled for the goal – challenging in itself – of maintaining Israel's security, took it upon himself to reengineer the Middle East and install a new regime in Iran, "not Himmler instead of Hitler," as he explained. Like Churchill at Gallipoli, Netanyahu believed that a surprise blow to the enemy's rear would throw it off balance and lead to a quick victory. He underestimated Iran's ability to absorb the blow and launch a counterattack, and did not prepare for a decisive final move. Trump stopped the bleeding, cut a cease-fire deal and left Netanyahu facing "Himmler" in Tehran.
Netanyahu found himself in trouble with his patron in the White House, who is blaming him for the hasty move to war. The relationship with Trump is vital to Netanyahu's election campaign and his efforts to cancel his trial, but the president is not pleased with his protege in Jerusalem. He did not mention the partnership with Israel and Netanyahu in his statements about the cease-fire and the great victory in the war, and did not repeat his call for President Isaac Herzog to pardon him. Instead of words of praise and friendship, senior administration officials briefed The New York Times on the February 11 meeting in which Netanyahu dragged Trump into the Iranian swamp.
On Israel's Independence Day, less than two weeks from now, Trump is scheduled to come to Jerusalem to receive the Israel Prize for his "unique contribution to the Jewish people," and perhaps to light a ceremonial torch. Will he forgive Netanyahu and come to help him with his campaign, or cast him aside and begin thinking about regime change in Israel?