The failed Iranian missile attack against Israel on Tuesday demands a powerful response. The Biden administration must support Israel’s effort to deter, or if necessary defeat, Iran and its proxies. The missile attack should convince the U.S. that it faces linked threats in Europe and the Middle East: Russia and Iran both aim to challenge American power. Washington unfortunately has ignored the link between these two adversaries and thus is also alienating two crucial U.S. partners, Ukraine and Israel, and disrupting their ability to strategize. For all its talk, the Biden administration is failing at alliance management.
The Mossad was likely behind last month’s spectacular attack on Hezbollah, which involved destroying the Iranian proxy’s pagers to cripple its communications. The next day Hezbollah’s walkie-talkie radios exploded. The Israel Defense Forces later killed several high-ranking Hezbollah officers and hit 100 or so Hezbollah rocket launchers. Rather than supporting its ally’s attempt to deter an enemy and return its people to their homes in northern Israel, the U.S. reacted with dismay. Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned against escalation and seemed to imply that Israel’s action could make the process of reaching a Gaza cease-fire “more difficult” or even “derail it.”
Last Friday the IDF struck Hezbollah’s central command post in Beirut, killing Hassan Nasrallah, the terrorist organization’s leader, and incapacitating its chain of command. The White House’s response on Saturday reiterated Washington’s commitment to de-escalation, both in Gaza with Hamas and in Lebanon with Hezbollah.
Israel last month recovered the bodies of six hostages Hamas had executed, including American-Israeli dual national Hersh Goldberg-Polin. Again the U.S. responded poorly: Although President Biden appropriately said he was “devastated and outraged,” Washington remained committed to negotiating with Hamas.
The same week Israel found the murdered hostages, Russia launched missiles against Ukraine, hitting the country’s electrical grid and civilian population. The attacks killed dozens in a hospital in Poltava, in central Ukraine, and four members of a family in the western city of Lviv (only the father survived).
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Seth Cropsey is the founder and president of Yorktown Institute.
Harry Halem is a Senior Fellow at Yorktown Institute.
