By Steve Kramer
KFAR SABA, Israel — In the moment, I’m writing while rockets and drones from Iran have just attacked Israel. The American president’s “Don’t” didn’t deter Iran from unleashing 300 drones, rockets, and missiles against “the little Satan,” Israel. Now is the time for Israel to switch from its defensive posture to an active offense against Iran. There will never be a more opportune time!
It’s true that the Biden administration has chided Israel to deescalate, but this is a familiar refrain, going back many decades. A few examples: do not pre-empt in the 1967 Six Day War (we did, which was a unique success), don’t pre-empt in the 1973 Yom Kippur War (we didn’t, which proved to be a precursor to the October 7 catastrophe), sanctions from President Reagan for destroying the Iraqi nuclear reactor in 1981 (which prevented a situation much like the one today with Iran).
In 2011 Prime Minister Netanyahu addressed the US Congress giving a significant speech. However, this further alienated President Obama, who had already signaled a pro-Iran agenda in his very first international speech in Cairo. In Netanyahu’s speech, he used a prop to illustrate the “red line” that Israel was drawing to stop Iran’s development of nuclear weapons. Now, twelve years later (if not before) that line has definitely been breached and Iran is poised to develop nuclear weapons.
Further necessitating the imperative for offensive action against the unprecedented terrorist attacks from Iran itself are the existing attacks from Hezbollah (Lebanon) to our north, Hamas (Gaza) to the south, the Houthis in Yemen (southeast), and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in Syria (east).
If Israel fails to retaliate against Iran, the head of the snake, what impression does that make on Israel’s Abraham Accords Arab associates, the UAE, Bahrain, and Morocco? Not to mention future associates such as Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, and others, all of whom have reasons to fear Iran. If Israel is left hanging like a punching bag for its Muslim jihadi enemies, what impact does it have on America’s current and future allies? Right now Israel has offensive momentum which must not be wasted.
In an appearance this morning (April 14) on i24News from Israel, former Ambassador to the US and noted historian/ author Michael Oren opined that in the Middle East, failing to retaliate against an enemy attack is the worst sort of signal to send to both friends and enemies. We’ve seen that signal from the US in regard to multiple deadly attacks by Iran against Americans, going back decades.
Instead of stopping a much smaller and less potent enemy, the US has rewarded Iran with a decrease in trade sanctions and access to another $10 billion in assets that had been frozen. That money has gone directly to nuclear weapons research and armaments for its proxies.
Of course, Israel’s proximity to Iran and its proxies absolutely precludes following the US example. Ironically, the premature sneak attack by Hamas has upset the Iranian grand plan to encircle Israel from the north, east, and south; a unified, three-front exterior attack augmented by igniting the Palestinian Arabs in Judea and Samaria as well as portions of the Israeli Arab population. The way it looks today, such an idea could have succeeded, especially if the US would not have immediately supplied and backed up the IDF.
Perhaps, if President Trump’s punitive embargo and other penalties against Iran had not been nullified three years ago, immediately after the present administration took office, Iran’s current plans for nukes and its proxy armies could have been curtailed. We’ll never know. But we do know that without resisting the US policy to coddle its enemies and to disappoint its allies, Israel’s once-bright future with the Western-oriented Muslim regimes will vanish.
At this time, the standing IDF forces have momentum, are primed for victory, and the hundreds of thousands of reserve soldiers are equally anxious to defeat Hamas and Hezbollah. Iran’s direct attack on Israel screams out for a decisive counter-attack. Years ago would have been a better time for this fight against Iran. But we have another, perhaps the last, chance to defeat Iran, accelerate the downfall of the mullahs, and influence the captive populations of its proxies. The saying, “He who hesitates, loses,” is entirely apt at this propitious juncture.
I call to your attention this article by Yonah Jeremy Bob that appeared today in The Jerusalem Post.
*
Steve Kramer is an American Israeli based in Kfar Saba. He may be contacted via steve.kramer@sdjewishworld.com