Three weeks ago, Foreign Minister Yair Lapid and Defense Minister Benny Gantz convened the ambassadors from all the UN Security Council member nations in Jerusalem and told them that if Iran maintains its current pace of uranium enrichment, it will reach military nuclear break-out capacity in 70 days. If their countdown clock is accurate, Iran is now around seven weeks away from becoming a nuclear capable state.
Given the urgency of the situation, Israel’s prime minister could have been expected to fly to Washington to make clear to the U.S. president that Israel intends to attack Iran’s nuclear facilities at Qom, Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan, (or any combination of them), in order to stop the clock. The same prime minister could be expected to tell the president that while Israel would appreciate U.S. assistance in carrying out the mission, all Israel asks is for the U.S. not to undermine its operation.
On the face of things then, it makes sense to assess Naftali Bennett’s trip to Washington in the context of the urgency of the hour. And on the face of things, it appears to have been carried out in this context.
Bennett insisted on visiting the White House in the midst of the greatest strategic catastrophe to befall the U.S. since the September 11 attacks. But whereas those attacks were the work of foreign jihadist terrorists, America’s present strategic defeat – now compounded by last Wednesday’s murderous terrorist assault on Kabul airport – is the direct consequence of President Joe Biden’s actions.
Over the past few weeks, Biden has demonstrated that his judgment is impaired. The apparent absence of any strategic or operational foresight informing America’s humiliating withdrawal from Kabul, and Biden’s failure to coordinate the operation with U.S. allies has decimated his credibility. U.S. allies recognize that they cannot trust America under his leadership.
If it was so important to Bennett to come in the midst of all of this, he could have been expected to leverage the current crisis to make clear that Israel is not following the U.S. down the rabbit hole. Israel will defend itself and the time to act has arrived.
But that doesn’t appear to be what happened. Bennett said that he presented Biden with a completely new strategy for blocking Iran from becoming a nuclear armed state. And Biden helpfully said that he was committed to blocking Iran from ever acquiring nuclear weapons. But Biden also said that he doesn’t think the situation is urgent at all. To the contrary. He said, “We’re putting diplomacy first and seeing where it takes us.” He added blandly, “But if diplomacy fails, we’re ready to turn to other options.”
Biden failed in Afghanistan because he apparently believed that with the unstinting support of the U.S. media, he didn’t need to bother putting together a coherent withdrawal plan or discussing it ahead of time with U.S. allies. He was convinced that good PR meant you don’t need a good policy. His failure in Afghanistan proves that reality is unmoved by press clippings.