The past months have shown that the Trump administration is more than willing to upend precedent, conventional wisdom and relationships to secure a “better deal” for America.
The sophisticated attack this week in which Israel is suspected of detonating pagers carried by Hezbollah members could bring a serious escalation in the attrition war between the two sides that started following the Hamas terror strike on Oct. 7, 2023. One of the options Israel is weighing is conducting a large-scale war in Lebanon. But this would be a huge gamble and a grave mistake, for several reasons.
Sending the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier at high speed to the Middle East has created an aircraft carrier gap in the Pacific. The carrier fleet is stretching to perform its global role.
The murderous terrorist attack of Oct. 7 by Hamas, coupled with daily rocket strikes into Israel from Gaza and from Hezbollah in Lebanon and constant threats by Iran to destroy it, shines a light on how Israel’s nuclear strategy requires an update and might be optimized for deterrence.
Terrorists are not interested in a cessation of hostilities with Israel, nor are they interested in Palestinian statehood when the presumed rewards of martyrdom seem vastly greater.
Israel is stepping up its ground attack in the Gaza Strip, but destroying a powerful movement like Hamas is a tall order due to several difficulties and constraints. Furthermore, achieving this goal might ultimately be counterproductive for Israel.
Israel has always prided itself on not asking the U.S. to send soldiers to fight on its behalf. If another front opens up, if U.S. forces in the Mediterranean fail to deter, it may have to reverse its longstanding policy.
Before any Israeli boots hit the Gazan ground, there are a handful of strategic challenges that Israel’s leadership must address if it hopes to put an end to the bloodshed and achieve meaningful victory for Israelis in the wake of such devastating loss.
