NewsNation’s Chief Washington Anchor Leland Vittert was a foreign correspondent for four years in Jerusalem. He provides expert analysis and insight into the Israel-Hamas war in the Oct. 18 edition of War Notes.
The day’s news in one line: When Air Force One took off last night, President Joe Biden was on board. When it landed, former President Jimmy Carter got off. What a mess.
Breaking news:
A pool report from Tel Aviv: The President was asked what made him sure Israel wasn’t behind the explosion in Gaza. Biden responded saying it was the data the Defense Department showed him.
The Middle East is built on three things: Fear, respect and trust.
Your enemies must fear you.
Your allies must respect you.
And both must trust that you will do what you say.
President Joe Biden’s visit shows that the United States has lost all three; that is not a partisan statement. We as Americans are safer when our president is respected, regardless of party. The world is safer when America is strong and respected… yikes! These are people we give billions of dollars to and they won’t ever meet with the president… double yikes.
When the King of Jordan snubs the President of the United States, you know it is bad. The snub is bad, but the reason why is worse. The king has his own problems, and being an ally to the United States is no longer worth it. Plus, most of the Arab world is as angry or more than the Israelis over Biden’s reproach of Iran. In the weeks before the Hamas attack, a keen observer noted that Biden had managed to upset both Jerusalem and Riyadh; that takes a special kind of ineptitude. The same can be said for National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan.
The Saudis of all people snubbed Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
And the stakes could not be higher. Older Americans will see the “protests” at the US Embassies and remember Tehran. Families of servicemen will see last night’s attack on the embassy in Beirut and remember the Marine barracks bombing.
Remember, a week ago Iranian PressTV reported a “do not travel” advisory. It wasn’t true, but they knew it was coming because of Hezbollah’s plans.
The danger here is the Ayatollah and their proxies viewing the United States as week. That’s how miscalculation and escalation occur. The lack of clarity, red lines and meaningful threats from the administration only embolden those wishing to do ill.
The Jordanians and Egyptians said “no” to any Palestinian refugees yesterday. They have at least, if not more, responsibility as Israel does to help, but they largely get a pass.
That said, the United States has shown no reason to trust us. Thus, the Jordanians and Egyptians have no reason to risk their own regimes or unrest in their own country to help us out.
I won’t dwell too much on Islamic Jihad misfiring a rocket into their own hospital and blaming the Israelis. Their story reeked from the start but that didn’t keep CNN from saying they have no reason to question the Hamas-run health ministry. The lack of moral clarity is pretty shocking, but perhaps, not surprising.
As I said last night, for the past eight years, the media has lectured us about the need to seek truth, call out lies and pick good over evil, with Trump, Ukraine and Black Lives Matter as examples. But now when faced with true evil, we are forced once again to listen to “both sides.”
We would be well served to remind people that every time the Palestinians make a claim going forward, these are the same people who blew up their own hospital and blamed it on Israel. They have forfeited their right to be taken at face value.
The editor of The Economist put out this tweet that I responded to, saying, “When you have lost @TheEconomist — other than Hamas/PIJ admitting what else do you need. BDA/SIGInt/OpenSource Realtime visual all point to failed rocket. And Palestinians offer ZERO proof of their claim.”
The call the IDF intercepted from Hamas operatives is pretty good television.
Why wouldn’t the United States be stronger in supporting Israel’s side here? Biden admitted it was “the other team,” but then totally failed to call out Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad for not only hitting their own hospital but lying about it. It is as if he, and his team, are a little disappointed. If it were Israel, I can guarantee it would be the only thing people were talking about and we would be well on our way to universal pressure for a ceasefire.
One has to wonder if a forceful statement regarding the hospital from the president, and him using some political currency with Egypt, Jordan and the other Arab allies to say the same, would change the temperature on the street. However, that’s the point: Biden doesn’t have any of that currency. There is no trust, respect or fear.
Make no mistake, the world will move on from the Palestinians hitting their own hospital and start blaming Israel for something else. As we have predicted since this began, Israel will be held to a ridiculous double standard.
The United Nations is now demanding a ceasefire, yet they won’t even demand Hamas release all their hostages. How is that fair?
It is with good reason that Israel feels on their own. As if to emphasize that point, on the flight over, Admiral John Kirby had this exchange with a reporter after promising that Biden would ask some “tough questions” of the Israelis:
“Q: When you say that — when you say that the President is going to ask Netanyahu some tough questions, could you give us a sense of what those are? And is he going to ask him to delay the offensive at least until aid can get in there?
“MR. KIRBY: This is not about directing operations for the Israeli Defense Forces. And — and by “tough questions,” I don’t mean menacing or — or in any way adversarial, just hard questions that a good friend of Israel would ask about, sort of, where they think they’re — where they think they’re going, what their — what their plans are going forward and, again, all in the spirit of a — of a true, deep friend of Israel.”
Here’s a thought bubble: “True, deep friends” don’t ask “tough questions” after a terrorist group slaughters 1,000 of your people. They ask how they can help and shut up. Let’s say your best friend’s wife cheats on him—a “true deep friend” doesn’t ask you to examine how you not washing the dishes contributed to her infidelity.
The IDF put out some interesting numbers about an increase in the failed Hamas missile launches.
What does this say about Hamas’s arsenal? Is the goal of the delay in ground invasion to make Hamas use up its better weapons?
Speaking of the Palestinians, especially the Gazans, it is pretty stunning how suddenly everyone cares about them. Gaza was a hellhole before this all began and nobody cared. When was the last story you saw about the Israel-Palestine conflict? Biden essentially gave up on the issue. Only when Israel got attacked did the world suddenly care.
The good question to ask tonight is what changed after Biden’s visit? Is the world safer? Is America more trusted, feared or respected?
Tune into “On Balance with Leland Vittert” weeknights at 7/6C on NewsNation. Find your channel here.
The views expressed in this article are those of the author and not of NewsNation.