Following Iranian-backed Palestinian Islamist group Hamas’ deadly surprise attack on Israel on Saturday morning, President Joe Biden told the press, “The United States stands with Israel. We will not ever fail to have their back.” Although his public expression of support was reassuring, his frosty relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his administration’s long record of appeasement with Iran leaves some of us concerned over just how deep that support goes.
The fact remains that the Biden administration has often failed to “have Israel’s back.” The most recent example of this failure came just last month, when they negotiated the release of $6 billion in frozen Iranian funds, the proceeds of Iranian oil sales to South Korea, in a prisoner swap deal with the terrorist country.
While Team Biden continues to claim the funds may only be used for humanitarian purposes, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi told NBC News’ Lester Holt in a September interview that the money will be used “wherever we need it.”
We also know that money is fungible. Access to an additional $6 billion frees the regime to use other funds for nefarious projects such as a proxy war in Israel. This deal, along with the Biden administration’s failure to enforce the sanctions put in place by the Trump administration, once again projected America’s weakness to the world and emboldened our enemies.
At any rate, while the severity of the latest assault on Israel shocked the world, it’s only the latest round in a conflict that has raged for decades. And the only way to end it is a decisive and total Israeli victory over Hamas.
Israel has both the desire and the capability to destroy Hamas, but up until now, it has not been allowed the time by the international community to get the job done. When these attacks have occurred in the past, world leaders initially agree that Israel has the right to defend itself and to retaliate against the terrorists. But inevitably, after a week or maybe two of bloodshed, the calls for a ceasefire begin.
In a Sunday interview on Fox News, Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR), a military veteran who has served in both Iraq and Afghanistan, argued that Israel must be permitted to finish the job this time. Israel must be given “the time and the freedom of action for as long as it takes.”
“There’s a long history especially with President Biden and President Obama before him, after 4, 7, 10, 14 days of Israeli operations against terrorist groups like Hamas and Hezbollah backed by Iran of going wobbly, of demanding restraint, of seeking a ceasefire,” he said. “We can’t do that this time.”
Noting Biden’s frequently stated vow to support Ukraine “for as long as it takes,” Cotton said, “After yesterday’s savage butchery in Israel, surely President Biden will also support Israel for as long as it takes to destroy Hamas.”
The senator emphasized that “what Israel needs now more than anything is freedom of action. There’s no question that the Israeli Defense Forces can destroy Hamas inside the Gaza Strip. But they need the freedom of action and time to destroy Hamas. That takes the form of American military, diplomatic and political support.”
He continued, “It’s nice to see European leaders lighting up their national legislatures with the Israeli flag. But when Hamas starts trotting out dead bodies of civilian casualties caused by Hamas’ use of civilians as human shields in the days ahead, and European leaders and the United Nations and liberals in the Democratic Party start pressuring President Biden to demand a ceasefire or demand that Israel withdraw, it is essential that President Biden not give an inch. That he give Israel the time and the freedom of action it needs to destroy Hamas.”
Although the Israel-Palestinian conflict has endured for decades, the stakes for Israel have never been higher. Hamas and the other Iranian-backed terrorist groups that seek Israel’s annihilation, have grown more sophisticated, more organized and more determined than ever before.
An Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip will be ugly and could be extended. There is also the chance that Hezbollah could open a second front in Northern Israel. But the price of inaction would be far greater. Will Biden get out of the way and allow Israel to fight? Or will he go wobbly when the calls for a ceasefire begin?
A previous version of this article appeared in the Washington Examiner.
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