RUTHFULLY YOURS

The Biden administration persists in granting victories to Hamas and its primary supporters, Qatar and Iran, and in a way that only strengthens their positions in support of terrorism.

On March 25, the Biden administration declined to exercise its veto power at the United Nations Security Council, effectively betraying Israel and aligning itself with Hamas. This decision was perceived by Israel’s enemies in Iran, Qatar, Lebanon, Jordan, Syria and Iraq as the United States finally having abandoned Israel. The American abstention looked as if the US had adopted Hamas’s position at long last — and during the height of the conflict!

The Biden administration, throughout its term, of course, has also been providing, mostly in sanctions waivers, “closer $60 billion” to Iran, topped off by another $10 billion that looked as if it were a reward to Iran and its proxies for having killed three US service members, after attacking American troops in the region more than 150 times just since October.

The Iranian regime has undoubtedly has used this windfall not only to strengthen its own Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which trained Hamas for its atrocities on October 7, but also, to further enrich its uranium — now, admittedly at 84% purity, close to the 90% purity needed for nuclear weapons-grade material — to put the finishing touches on its eagerly anticipated nuclear bombs.

The Biden administration has therefore been funding both sides of two major wars it effectively ignited. The first war, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, was enabled by Biden’s hobbling US energy production his first days on the job, causing the price of oil on the world market to triple – from $40 a barrel at the end of 2020, to $120 a barrel in 2022 — making Russia rich enough to launch a Ukraine. The US has also been funding Ukraine – which must defeat Russia — but the entire Russian expedition would not have been possible without this catastrophic US policy.

The second war, Iranian-backed aggression in the Middle East, was enabled by the Biden administration’s sanctions waivers to Iran, which, as the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism, had been in 2020, comfortably for everyone else, destitute. The Biden administration’s sanctions waivers gifted Iran the use of up to $100 billion, at least some of which undoubtedly went into training at least 500 Hamas terrorists to attack Israel.

Former US National Security Advisor John Bolton, mincing no words in his condemnation of the Biden administration’s stance, labeled it “confused” and “dangerous.” He pointed out the dangerous precedent the Biden administration had set by allowing Hamas to wield a “terrorist veto” over Israel of the right to defend itself — a move that not only undermines Israel’s security but also seriously weakens global counterterrorism efforts.

Senator Bill Hagerty further denounced the administration’s actions as a betrayal of both Israel and the American citizens still held hostage by Hamas terrorists.

The apparent willingness by the Biden administration to appease the sponsors of Hamas — Qatar and Iran — at the expense of strategic alliances, underscores a troubling shift in US foreign policy priorities, one that seems to value winning votes in Michigan on November 5 over longstanding geostrategic alliances.

The Biden administration’s actions at the UN Security Council additionally dealt a severe blow to efforts aimed at securing the release of hostages held by Hamas. By separating Hamas’s demands from the release of hostages, Resolution 2728 significantly worsened the situation for those held captive — including six remaining Americans — an outcome that Israel rightly saw as a breach of trust.

Former US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman drew parallels between the Biden administration’s actions and the infamous UNSC Resolution 2334 during the Obama administration — a move that similarly undermined Israel’s position on the international stage and encouraged terrorists worldwide.

By failing to condemn Hamas and failing to condition a ceasefire on the release of hostages, the Biden administration handed Hamas and other terrorist groups a monumental diplomatic victory. What onlookers see, including terrorists and America’s enemies and adversaries – when they also factor in the open US southern border across which millions of illegal immigrants have recently poured, including 46,000 Chinese, many of whom are military-aged men possibly “building an army from within” – is that the Biden administration is perfectly content to welcome and support terrorists.

The White House actions have bolstered America’s adversaries and pretty much extinguished America’s credibility as an ally. The universal “optics” are that if America will throw its closest ally, Israel, under the bus, what chance has anyone else got?

The Iranian regime last month celebrated what appeared a weakening of Israel’s position, as an opportunity to advance its own agenda in the region. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei held meetings with Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad leaders, reinforcing Iran’s support for their “world war” in Gaza. The elaborate reception aimed to intimidate adversaries and enhance Iran’s image as a steadfast supporter of Hamas, as if to say, “Want to see what loyalty looks like? Watch this!”

Hamas leaders expressed gratitude for Iran’s backing since the October 7 attack. Ismail Haniyeh, chair of Hamas’s political bureau, thanked Iran for its support, positioning the country as a champion: “Iran stands at the forefront of supporting the cause and people of Palestine,” said Haniyeh, he extending his appreciation to Iran’s leadership and its people.

Sadly, the Biden administration’s Middle East policy appears to have disastrous from the start, beginning with President Barack Obama’s illegitimate and lethal Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) or “nuclear deal” in 2015, which permitted Iran to have as many nuclear weapons as it liked presumably, according to Obama, so long as “Iran will not get a nuclear weapon on my watch.”

As the columnist Amir Taheri wrote in 2018:

“To start with the ‘deal’ isn’t legally binding because it was negotiated by the P5+1, an informal group with no legal existence, no mission statement and answerable to no one. They produced a press release, titled ‘Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action’ (JCPOA) in 176 pages, in three different versions, which was neither signed by anyone nor approved by any legislative authority in any of the countries concerned.”

The previously year, Taheri wrote:

“A vague text was established, fudging the issue, and declaring victory for both sides. The participants in the game agreed to keep the text away from their respective legislatures so as not to risk scrutiny of the witches’ brew they had cooked…

“Legally speaking, the so-called deal doesn’t exist and thus cannot be ‘torn up’ by anybody…

It was not formally and legally appointed by anybody, had no written mission statement, implied no legal commitment for members and was answerable to no one.”

To set the record straight, if someone were to brutally attack your family or community, resulting in the deaths of several members, the rape of others, and the abduction of hostages, would you decide to empower them to strike again? It was Hamas that initiated the attack on October 7th, launching a barrage of rockets at Israel while approximately 3,000 terrorists crossed the Gaza-Israel barrier and assaulted Israeli military bases and civilian communities. This onslaught resulted in the murder of approximately 1,200 people in Israel; Jews, Muslims, Christians; Israelis, tourists and foreign workers. The horrific atrocities included Hamas’s sustained gang rape and torture of men, women and children, and included babies beheaded and burned alive, and the seizure of 240 hostages who were abducted and taken to Hamas’s tunnels in Gaza.

Now Israel finds itself embroiled in a multi-front conflict against Iran and its proxies, fighting for its very survival.

Israel has the right to self-defense, to once and for all eradicate the threat of 20 more years of attacks from Hamas terrorists. This defense entails defeating the four Hamas battalions that remain in the southern Gaza city of Rafah. There are rumors that Yahya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas in Gaza – not, like the other Hamas leaders, living as billionaires in 5-star hotels in Qatar — has surrounded himself with many of the remaining hostages, being used as human shields to protect him.

Many people in Israel call to “Bring the Hostages Home.” The request is wrong, because it is addressed to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has been doing his best to do free the hostages, while preventing Hamas ever to be able to strike Israel again – and standing up to US pressure, as he did during the fraudulent Iran nuclear deal. But the hostages are not his to bring home. The cry should be: “Release the Hostages” — addressed, as well as calls for a ceasefire — to the people who are holding them: Hamas, Qatar and Iran.

The US has failed to put any pressure whatever on Hamas, Qatar or Iran to demand that the hostages be immediately released. The Biden administrations seems to be all about protecting Iran and Qatar, who are protecting Hamas. Instead of being pressured, Iran is being paid billions of dollars – probably as a bribe not to make trouble before the US presidential election November 5. When several members of Iran’s IRGC were killed in a pinpoint Israeli airstrike in Syria last week, the Biden administration rushed to tell the Iranians that it wasn’t the US that did it, and please not to attack US assets.

Qatar was invited to operate the Gaza pier; how is that for pressure?

The US administration would clearly like to replace Netanyahu with new US-handpicked prime minister who would do whatever they tell him to, and appears to have launched a plan to do just that, using Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer as its mouthpiece. The Israelis must not fall for it. If they want to preserve Israel, preserve Netanyahu.

The US seems, for the moment at least to have selected a former defense minister, Benny Gantz, who was invited on an unauthorized visit to Washington last month and has now called for “September elections.” The new US puppet, in exchange for the job promotion and its concomitant limelight, would presumably be happy to do whatever the US orders him to, allowing a terrorist Palestinian state to be established next door to Israel, ruled by the people who have already vowed to attack Israel time and again until it is annihilated. The Palestinian state, even if it were officially “demilitarized,” would, of course, be free to enter into military alliances with any countries it wished — perhaps Russia, China, Iran, North Korea?

Israel’s new US puppet prime minister would presumably be happy to have Qatar – a country that has supported virtually every Islamic terrorist group — including Hamas, ISIS, Hizballah, the Taliban, the al Nusra Front and Al Shabaab — “operate” the Gaza pier now being built to bring “humanitarian aid” and Heaven knows what else into Gaza. Above all, of course, the new puppet would presumably agree to Iran being armed to the teeth with nuclear bombs.

Netanyahu enjoys support from Israel’s public, who realize that he has the brass to stand up to the US administration, as he has before.

The Biden administration would do far better, especially for November 5, instead of aligning itself with the terrorist groups and the countries that support them — such as Hamas, Qatar and Iran — to align itself with those in the Free World, fighting for freedom, human rights and civilization.

Dr. Majid Rafizadeh is a business strategist and advisor, Harvard-educated scholar, political scientist, board member of Harvard International Review, and president of the International American Council on the Middle East. He has authored several books on Islam and US Foreign Policy. He can be reached at Dr.Rafizadeh@Post.Harvard.Edu