Biden, Not Bibi, Is the Problem in the War Against, Among Others, Hamas

In both Israel and America, criticism is mounting of Prime Minister Netanyahu’s leadership in the war against Hamas. Victory is taking too long. There are too many casualties. The goals are unclear. The humanitarian situation is dire.What Netanyahu’s critics are missing is that there are two other recent prolonged wars that also have featured plenty of misery — in Ukraine and in Afghanistan. Mr. Netanyahu had nothing to do with either of those wars, but Joe Biden did.That suggests the problematic leader may not be the one in Jerusalem. Start with the war in Afghanistan. Mr. Biden was chairman of the Senate foreign relations committee between 2001 and 2003 and again between 2007 and 2009.Mr. Biden then was vice president of America between 2009 and 2017. He’s been president since 2021. On September 14, 2001, Mr. Biden was among the senators who voted, 98 to 0, to authorize use of military force against those responsible for September 11. In December 2021, Mr. Biden claimed that “I’ve been against that war in Afghanistan from the very beginning,” but Politifact rated that statement “false.” If Biden had wanted to resign as vice president out of principled disagreement to President Obama’s decision to “surge” troops to Afghanistan, he could have, but he didn’t.A U.S. Institute of Peace analysis says the 20-year war cost America $2.3 trillion and led to the deaths of 2,324 GIs, 3,917 American contractors, and 1,144 allied troops, along with the deaths of 70,000 Afghan military and police, 46,319 Afghan civilians, and 53,000 opposition fighters, along with another 67,000 people in Pakistan.The August 2021 fall of Kabul was one of the most embarrassing moments in American history. Who can forget the pictures of the Air Force cargo plane taking off from a runway crowded with Afghans desperately trying to clamber aboard? When it landed there were human remains discovered in the wheel well. Thirteen American service members died at Abbey Gate. That all happened during the presidency of Joe Biden.After America left, the Taliban “banned all women from visiting the country’s premier national park,” flogged women for the crime of leaving their homes, and left “millions…starving,” according to a Washington Post editorial.The UN reports that 3 million Afghans “are on the brink of starvation.” Can’t blame Mr. Netanyahu for that, which may help explain why you aren’t hearing about it on National Public Radio or on the front page of the Sunday New York Times.American weakness in Afghanistan in 2021 helped inspire Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. That war, which Mr. Biden has participated in at a cynical level that staves off a Ukrainian defeat but falls short of assuring a victory, has resulted in a half a million Russians and Ukrainians killed or wounded, according to American estimates.The UN counts 6,486,000 refugees from Ukraine. Can’t blame Mr. Netanyahu for that. Nor is Senator Schumer describing President Zelensky as an obstacle to peace. The Council on Foreign Relations says that Mr. Biden and Congress have sent about $75 billion in aid to Ukraine since the Russian invasion in 2022.It may strike some people as “whataboutism” to point out these other crises. Yet the misery in Ukraine and Afghanistan persists just as the war in Gaza does.Mr. Biden got elected in part by selling voters on the idea that he was an experienced national security hand whose judgment and personal relationships would guide America through foreign crises. It turned out to be false advertising. It’s not all Mr. Netanyahu’s fault. Modern warfare is messy. Even the most careful, well-intentioned plans made by the most well-funded and sophisticated armed forces can turn into chaos. Mr. Biden’s timidity has hurt.Say what you will about Mr. Netanyahu, he’s closer to victory in Gaza, faster, with fewer casualties, and at lower cost, than Mr. Biden’s other allies have been. If Israel isn’t careful, Mr. Biden will force it in the direction of Ukraine or, even worse, Afghanistan.If America isn’t careful, the rest of the world will see how we treat our so-called friends, and draw the appropriate conclusions. If Mr. Biden himself isn’t careful, American voters may figure they’d be better off without another four years of this guy in the Oval Office.

Biden, Not Bibi, Is the Problem in the War Against, Among Others, Hamas

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