The fear of large-scale war in the Middle East is increasing. Tension between Israel, Iran and Arab countries is at its peak and many lives are being lost every day. US President Joe Biden announced in February that a ceasefire could happen in Gaza within a few days. Now, after more than seven months, Israel is not only fighting a war with Hamas in Gaza but Israeli troops have also attacked Lebanon. The Biden administration has continued political support and supplies of arms to Israel while also verbally talking about reducing tensions. It is important to understand what America's interests are in this region and what it wants to do.
America has supported every step taken by Israel this year. The US has expressed no objection to steps like the killing of Hamas leaders in Beirut and Tehran, the assassination of Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah and the invasion of South Lebanon. More than a year after the war broke out in Gaza, Israel's attack on Palestine continues. About 42,000 people have died in this. At the same time, attacks are being carried out continuously on Beirut and preparations are also being made to attack Iran. As the conflict in Gaza intensifies and spreads across the region, the gap between US statements and policy is widening.
Israel factor
Is the Biden administration failing to rein in Israel? Or is the US really taking advantage of the chaos to pursue an aggressive agenda against Iran, Hamas and Hezbollah? According to Al Jazeera analysts, the US remains a major cause of violence in the region despite statements of restraint and appeals for a ceasefire. It is difficult to guess about America's motives. However, many things indicate that the Biden administration is keeping pace with Israel
What has America said and done so far?
The US has backed Israel's offensive in Lebanon after months of public efforts to force a ceasefire in Gaza. US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has supported the Israeli ground operation in southern Lebanon last week. “I have made it clear that the United States supports Israel's right to self-defense,” Austin said in a statement after talks with his Israeli counterpart Yoav Galant on September 30. Hezbollah, based in Lebanon, started attacking Israeli military targets in October last year in support of Hamas. For months almost daily clashes remained confined mainly to the border area. The violence has forced thousands of people from both sides of the border to flee the country. Israel began bombing Lebanon late on 23 September following an operation against top Hezbollah military officials. Israeli violence since then has affected more than 1 million people in Lebanon. Before the attack, the US had been saying for months that it was working towards a diplomatic solution to the crisis on the Lebanon-Israel border.
difference between words and actions
As violence in Lebanon escalated, the Biden administration has united Arab and European countries and proposed an immediate 21-day ceasefire on September 25 to stop the fighting. However, two days later, when Israel killed Nasrallah in a massive bomb attack on several residential buildings in Beirut, effectively ending any possibility of a ceasefire, the US applauded the attack. Nasrallah's assassination was ordered by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from American soil where he was attending the United Nations General Assembly in New York. Osama Khalil, a history professor at Syracuse University, questioned the sincerity of Biden's diplomatic efforts. Khalil stressed that the US has been a direct partner and supporter of Israel's actions in Gaza and the rest of the region but that the US used the ceasefire talks to protect itself from domestic criticism. “It was all just talk,” Khalil said.
'A new look for the Middle East'
Politico reported on September 30, citing unnamed sources, that senior US officials have privately supported the Israeli military campaign against Hezbollah. “Behind the scenes, Hochstein, McGurk and other top US national security officials are supporting Israel's Lebanon campaign that will change the Middle East for the better for years to come,” the US publication said. Additionally, Axios reported last week that the US is trying to take advantage of Israel's attacks on Hezbollah by pressuring the election of a Lebanese president supported by Washington. The post of Lebanese president has been vacant for almost two years and parliament has been unable to reach a consensus to elect a new leader. On Tuesday, US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller called the war in Lebanon an opportunity to transform the country politically. He said the US wants the Lebanese people to have the ability to elect a new president and break the stranglehold that Hezbollah has imposed on the country.
History 18 years ago
Reshaping the region has always been a goal of the American neo-conservative movement that promotes support for Israel and upends US-friendly governments through aggressive foreign policy and military intervention. This approach was most clearly visible during the tenure of former US President George W. Bush. When Israel fought its last major war with Hezbollah 18 years ago during Bush's tenure, then-Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice spoke of the birth of a new Middle East. Many Bush-era neo-conservatives are now aligned with the Democratic Party and are supporting Vice President Kamala Harris for president in the November election. Biden himself supported the war in Iraq as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. So did Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who served as a Democratic staffer on the panel at the time.
Despair in Gaza
The war continues in Lebanon and the world is looking forward to a possible war between Iran and Israel. Many analysts say the US's failure to end the war in Gaza has brought the region to this point. Khalil Jahshan, executive director of the Arab Center in Washington, DC, also said that the Biden administration's unconditional support for the Netanyahu government is leading the entire region to destruction. In recent months the US has adopted the term “ceasefire” to describe an agreement that would end fighting in Gaza and lead to the release of Israeli prisoners. But the US has done little to pressure Netanyahu to accept the deal.
