Is Israel still supported by the United States?
We will end this calendar year with an article on the same theme as the first of the year, just after the US elections. In this article already, we wondered about the goodwill of a Biden administration, perceived as liberating by the Western media, after four years of conservative and pro-Israel Trumpism.
We discussed our fears about the future of Israeli-American relations given the Biden administration's pro-Palestinian, pro-Iranian and pro-Muslim Brotherhood positions, which is really just the renewal of an Obama administration No. 3.
In line with Obama's 2015 Iran nuclear deal with Iran and several Western countries, the current Biden administration is doing everything possible to reach a new deal with the Shiite theocracy. Already in 2015, the Western media praised this diplomatic advance which, in reality, allowed Iran to develop its nuclear activities with the consent of the international community.
Until recently, the specialist David Wurmser said that Iran had continued its research on military nuclear power throughout this period of negotiations (2015) and after the signing of the agreement, even if it was forbidden to do so. He added that in reality, the exit from the US agreement in 2018, led with a bang by Donald Trump, only exposed this deliberate pursuit of a nuclear military program of Iran.
We are living in much the same period when a U.S. administration is desperate to reach an agreement with the Iranians through diplomatic channels, even though the Iranians have reached a point of no return and are so close to possessing not only military nuclear power but even more so nuclear weapons in themselves, that any negotiation then becomes futile.
Since Joe Biden came to power, Iranians have rejoiced at the lack of firmness on the part of both americans and Westerners in general to tune their violins on the Iranian nuclear problem to Israel's great despair. In the summer of 2021, a new ultra-conservative President of the Republic was elected in Iran, which more than ever is taking the lead in the rush towards nuclear power and regional hegemony.
In this situation, the relationship between Israel and the United States has deteriorated considerably, especially since the Iranian problem is not the only discord between the two countries. The Israeli government itself was changed in early 2021, and outgoing Prime Minister Netanyahu, known for his tenacious stances towards Iran, was replaced by a government that was also more inclined to dialogue and diplomatic support from a Biden administration, which was strongly reluctant to defend Israel as Trump did.
During eight years of the Obama administration, Netanyahu had pursued a policy of firmness towards Iran, even though Israel was alone against all. Now, this situation is repeated again, without an Israeli leader having the courage to detach himself from this posture of obedience to the American big brother (yet far from being favorable to Israel in seven years).
Already, after the conflict with Hamas in Gaza in May 2021, the United States had taken several months to renew the stock of Israeli anti-aircraft missiles, leaving Israel almost unprotected, since the stocks of the famous "Iron Domes" were dangerously low. Now, the United States is extremely reluctant to conduct a military operation or allow Israel to carry out an attack on Iran's nuclear facilities, much to the despair of israelis.
Even as the latest round of negotiations in Vienna with Iran and European partners inexorably moves towards a failure of the talks, the threat of a nuclear-armed Iran is now becoming extremely worrying. A concern that the United States does not take as seriously as the tiny State of Israel, potentially destructible with these extremely devastating nuclear weapons.
Last week, Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz and Mossad chief David Barnea visited the United States to seek U.S. support. If, on the surface, the discussions seem to have been usual and cordial, the echoes of these meetings are actually much more pessimistic. The press release issued by the Israeli government also casts doubt on the outcome of these meetings where, for the first time, there was no mention of the inseparable affiliation between Israel and the American big brother.
A member of the Israeli security establishment said, on condition of anonymity, that during these meetings, Israelis felt they were being scolded by their big brother and punished for things they didn't do. The Americans were particularly angry with Israel for owning high-performing cyber companies and therefore boycotted two of these companies (NSO and Candiru).
Cyber companies mean intelligence: this boycott is actually the boycott of an exchange of intelligence between Israel and the United States. Recall that the elimination of Qassem Soleimani, by the Americans, was made possible thanks to Israeli intelligence, like so many other operations. A decision that adds to this mistrust of Israel's desire to stop Iran's headlong rush.
In addition, the Biden administration has refused Israel's request to accelerate the production and delivery of KC-46 tanker aircraft to replace the tanker aircraft that Israel already has, but which are aging (about 50 years of service). However, in a context of preparation for a military operation against Iran, these tanker aircraft are more than indispensable to the IDF since they would allow Israeli fighter jets and bombers to reach Iranian soil.
These tanker planes would have allowed Israel to carry out autonomous military action against Iran. The US refusal poses additional logistical problems for the Israeli army to prepare for such an operation.
The situation is however explosive in the Middle East: the Iranians have put their national army on alert, suspended the holidays of their soldiers, transport ballistic missiles to the west of the country as close as possible to Israel... Suspicious activities have also taken place in syria's Damascus area, where Iran is more than entrenched and acts under the guise of protecting the Syrian army. Hundreds of new Iranian drones have also been unveiled...
Specialist Caroline Glick is concerned about the softness of some Israeli generals who, she recalls, have already prevented the then Prime Minister Netanyahu from bombing Iran in 2010 and bowing to the desires of an Obama administration yet openly anti-Israeli.
It is also concerned about the gullibility of these generals to trust their American counterparts, who are certainly in favor of a joint intervention against Iran, but who are themselves challenged by the strategy of the government and its diplomatic representatives, who are the hierarchical superiors of the American army and who make the final decisions.
The leader of the U.S. Jewish Institute of National Security (JINSA), Michael Makovsky, said last week that "the latest meetings between U.S. diplomats and representatives of our closest and most loyal ally in the Middle East, Israel, have never been worse." In particular, he added that israelis are very pessimistic about the evolution of American support.
While Israelis and Americans acted in complete confidence in each other, only a few months ago, since Joe Biden's inauguration, the situation is tense in a dangerous way between the two countries, to the point that Israel plans to carry out a strike alone against Iran, at the risk of getting angry with the United States for a long time. The idyllic situation between Trump and Netanyahu is now far away.
Even as Israel needs the support of its allies in this very delicate moment, the Greatest Ally of the Jewish state is gradually fleeing, even if it means betraying Israel by signing an agreement with the Iranians behind the backs of the Israelis. While the friendly relationship between Trump and Israel guaranteed peace in the Middle East, the policies of the new US administration and the mistakes of the Israeli government of change foster this climate of tension. At the risk of seeing a conflict erupt?
It is interesting to remember that in Ezekiel chapter 38, relating to the Gog War, Israel's "allies" Seba, Dedan and all their lion cubs (assimilated to the Western world) only very timidly defend Israel, which is threatened with invasion by an enemy coalition. Israel's exceptional relationship with the world's most powerful state is becoming something of a partnership.
The United States itself is becoming an important but not superpowerful power. Once again, geopolitics agrees on the Lord's plans. These things must happen for our final deliverance.
So let us be attentive and pray that the Lord will hasten these things and preserve His own!
"He still says to the crowds: When you see a cloud rising in the West, you immediately say: rain is coming. And so it happens.
And when you see the midday wind blowing, you say: It will be hot. And it happens.
Hypocrites! You know how to discern the aspect of earth and heaven; how do you not discern this time? (Luke 12:54-56)
"And you, be like men who wait for their master to return from the wedding, in order to open it to him as soon as he arrives and knocks.
Blessed are those servants whom the master, on his arrival, will find watching! I tell you in truth, he will surround himself, have them put at the table, and approach to serve them.
Let him arrive on the second or third vigil, happy are these servants, if he finds them watching! (Luke 12:36-38)
