03-26-2024, 08:40 PM
(03-26-2024, 08:01 PM)Belsnickel Wrote: The correct way out would have been conditioning aid earlier on. At this point, any action we take is coming from a position of weakness.
You're on to something here, but you're drawing some flawed conclusions. First off, the US cannot be in a position of weakness in regard to Israel. We not only provide a military guarantee, the strongest in the world, but we control the purse strings that enable Israel to exist as it does. Hence we cannot be in a position of weakness, we can only be perceived as such. Which brings me to my second point. You don't put conditions on aid, or expectations for behavior out in the open. You do it in private. Doing so publicly lends itself to your perception of a position of weakness, which no one ever wants to be seen in. Doing so publicly hardens positions and makes way for obdurate behavior, precisely because of the the unflattering alternative.
You make it clear that you have red lines, that if crossed have consequences. Then you back that up if it happens. That's the time you go public, when the line has already been crossed. One thing though, you must never threaten an action that you don't plan on carrying out, that would only show you don't have the courage to follow through. What Biden did was cut Israel's legs out from under them in as public a forum as possible, handing a major win to terrorists the world over. I have my issues with his doddering person, but this is one of the worst foreign policy blunders in US history, and the repercussions of it are going to be far and long reaching. Hamas is going to bed with a huge smile on their face today. All those civilians they willingly offered up for death achieved a major goal of their organization.
