How Biden and Obama Failed in the Middle East
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Victor Davis Hanson
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@VDHanson
Victor Davis Hanson, a senior contributor for The Daily Signal, is a classicist and historian at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University and host of "The Victor Davis Hanson Show." His website, The Blade of Perseus, features columns, lectures, and exclusive content for subscribers. Contact him at [email protected].
The short answer to why both the Biden and Obama administrations failed to achieve peace in the Middle East is that they took actions opposite to President Donald Trump’s current efforts, which have led to a ceasefire.First, consider Iran.Iran was flush with cash, on a trajectory toward a nuclear weapon, and arming Israel’s “ring of fire” enemies: Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis.The radical Islamic world of the Middle East was convinced that Israel would be doomed eventually.Yet, both Democrat administrations let Iran profit from oil sales.They talked of delaying, but not ending, Iran’s nuclear program. And they feared that Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Houthis were indomitable terrorist threats.Thus, the disruptors of peace were appeased rather than deterred.Two, both former Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden pressured Israel in general and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in particular to make constant concessions.But neither offered any plan for how Israel was to survive when Iran sought its destru