International
Report: Biden called off a second Syria airstrike last week
Last week, President Joe Biden called off an airstrike in Syria after intelligence revealed last-minute that there was a woman and some children at the site, according to a Wall Street Journal report.
After 10 days of deliberations, Biden had ordered the Pentagon to conduct airstrikes on two Iranian-supported militia targets in Syria on February 26, according to the report, in his first known use of force.
However, according to battlefield reconnaissance delivered about 30 minutes before the bombs were set to drop, a woman and a couple of children were in the courtyard at one of the sites. With the F-15Es en route to the targets, the president bailed on the second target but let the strike on the first target go ahead.
Biden was highly criticized by both the political left and right for the airstrike carried out.
The goal of the airstrike was to signal to Iran that the new White House team would respond to a February 15 rocket attack in northern Iraq against the U.S.-led coalition but wasn’t aiming to escalate a confrontation with Tehran, senior administration officials reportedly told The Journal, describing the days leading to the strike in interviews with the newspaper.
RELATED: Rocket strike reported near U.S. Embassy in Baghdad
To reinforce the point, a confidential message was sent to Tehran after the U.S. airstrike, administration officials said, though without providing details, according to the newspaper.
“We had a pretty coordinated diplomatic and military plan here,” one administration official reportedly said. “We made sure the Iranians knew what our intent was.”
Another major goal was to avoid undermining the political position of Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi, whom Washington sees as a partner in the fight against Islamic State and would likely have faced criticism at home if the attacks had occurred on Iraqi soil, the officials reportedly added.
From the start, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, the only senior member of Biden’s cabinet with military experience, reassured the president that he could take his time to decide how to respond militarily, according to The Journal.
“You own the clock,” Austin reportedly advised Biden in the White House meeting immediately following the attack in Erbil, a second administration official who participated in the session told the newspaper.
The president tried to justify the strike the day after it, arguing in a letter to Congress that it was necessary for defending U.S. troops.
“Those non-state militia groups were involved in recent attacks against United States and Coalition personnel in Iraq,” Biden wrote, citing the February 15 attack as an example.
“These groups are also engaged in ongoing planning for future such attacks,” he added.
“In response, I directed this military action to protect and defend our personnel and our partners against these attacks and future such attacks,” Biden continued.
“The United States always stands ready to take necessary and proportionate action in self-defense, including when, as is the case here, the government of the state where the threat is located is unwilling or unable to prevent the use of its territory by non-state militia groups responsible for such attacks.
“I directed this military action consistent with my responsibility to protect United States citizens both at home and abroad and in furtherance of United States national security and foreign policy interests, pursuant to my constitutional authority to conduct United States foreign relations and as Commander in Chief and Chief Executive.”
READ THE FULL ORIGINAL WALL STREET JOURNAL REPORT HERE.
You can follow Douglas Braff on Twitter @Douglas_P_Braff.
International
Trump’s Middle East Policy Taking Shape
Follow Steve Postal: @HebraicMosaic
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What would a new Trump administration mean for the Middle East? Expect the following:
Increased Pressure on Iran and its Proxies
Brian Hook, Trump’s former special envoy to Iran who is believed to be leading Trump’s transition team for the State Department, stated that the new Trump administration would seek to “…isolate Iran diplomatically and weaken them economically, so that they can’t fund all of the violence…” coming from Iran’s proxies, “…all of whom destabilize Israel and our Gulf partners.” This approach contrasts with the Biden-Harris administration, who engaged the Islamic Republic diplomatically and economically, and even removed the Houthis from the Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) entity list from February 2021 through January 2024. That being said, Hook also stated that the new Trump administration would have “no interest in regime change” in Iran, and that decisions about the future of Iran lies with its people.
The Trump administration may green light an Israeli attack on Iran’s nuclear sites. GOP spokeswoman Elizabeth Pipko refused to say whether President-elect Trump would approve of Israel attacking Iran’s nuclear sites, stating that Trump should speak for himself on this issue and will do so when he assumes office. However, Trump had stated in October that Israel should strike Iran’s nuclear sites. In contrast, the Biden-Harris administration vocally opposed Israel attacking Iran’s nuclear sites or oil fields, and Israel’s attack plans were leaked to Iran through someone in the Biden-Harris administration’s Defense department.
Striving to End Wars in Lebanon and Gaza
According to Pipko, President-elect Trump wants Israel to end the wars in Gaza and Lebanon quickly, decisively, and with victory. Pipko contrasted this approach with the Biden-Harris administration’s “back and forth” policy, and that the Biden-Harris administration was pressuring how Israel conducts war based on election considerations. The Biden-Harris administration was guilty of “armchair quarterbacking” Israel’s wars in an unproductive way, including by leaking Israel’s plans to strike Lebanon, opposing the Rafah invasion, and opposing the killing of several arch-terrorists.
Trump will also likely prioritize the release of the hostages; Trump recently threatened Hamas, stating that if they did not free its hostages before inauguration day, it will pay “a very big price.” In contrast, the Biden-Harris administration has been spinning its wheels in endless failed diplomacy with Qatar, having not produced a hostage deal with Hamas since November 2023.
Pursuing a Conditional Peace with Palestinians
President-elect Donald Trump will likely re-visit his 2020 peace plan between Israel and the Palestinians, according to Brian Hook. Regarding the 2020 plan, Hook stated that “much of that work is still relevant today.”
On the issue of a Palestinian state, expect that the Trump administration won’t pursue a Palestinian state unconditionally for its own sake, as the Biden-Harris administration has. Hook conceded that Trump’s 2020 plan, which was endorsed by Israel and U.S.’ allies in the Gulf, “had a path to a two-state solution.” But Hook also recognized that Israelis are not focused on a Palestinian state now, and are instead focused on protecting themselves from terrorism in the wake of the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.
Additionally, Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas outright rejected the 2020 plan, and the plan also required the PA to provide security guarantees for Israel, recognize Israel, and allow Israeli citizens to remain in Judea and Samaria, all of which the PA did not agree to. If the new Trump administration seeks to revive this plan, it will likely revive these conditions for a Palestinian state as well. The PA will then in turn likely reject it a second time, proving again that the PA is not a partner for peace.
Expanding the Abraham Accords
President-elect Trump is also poised to expand the Abraham Accords. Trump brokered normalization deals between Israel and the UAE, Bahrain, Morocco, and Sudan. Reportedly, the previous Trump administration was on the verge of expanding the Abraham Accords to Indonesia and Mauritania, but were prevented from doing so once the administration’s term expired. During the past Trump administration, Saudi Arabia had been trying to get Pakistan to join the Abraham Accords as well.
In contrast, the Biden-Harris administration failed to add any countries to the Abraham Accords. Most notably is the administration’s failure to clinch an Israel-Saudi Arabia deal after chilling US relations with Saudi Arabiaand insisting on a Palestinian state as an integral part of any deal. The Biden-Harris administration seems content with now pursuing a bilateral US-Saudi deal that ices out Israel, which would completely undermine the spirit of the Abraham Accords.
Jared Kushner has had multiple discussions with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on the issue of US-Israel-Saudi relations since President-elect Trump left office. So given past efforts, the new Trump administration could clinch Abraham Accords deals with Indonesia, Mauritania, Oman, and/or the big prize, Saudi Arabia.
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