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John Bolton, former United States National Security Advisor wrote in an op-ed in the New York Post, claiming that, "Israel lost a perfect opportunity to cripple Iran’s nuclear-weapons program during its strike against Iran this week."
The targets actually selected, air defense and missile-production facilities, were entirely legitimate. Undoubtedly, both Iran’s defensive and offensive capabilities suffered significant damage.
"Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government did not strike Iran’s gravest threat: the existential danger of nuclear holocaust against Israel. And the mullahs’ nuclear aspirations — including the threat of Tehran transferring nuclear devices to international terrorist groups — also pose grave dangers to the United States, Gulf Arab countries and many others," he explained.
Bolton blames the decision on US pressure and noted that no matter the results of the impending elections, Israel may not find any increased sympathy from the Oval Office. Vice-President Kamala Harris is likely to be no more friendly than President Joe Biden, and with the votes cast, Biden himself may decide to act against Israel in the remainder of his term.
As for Donald Trump, Bolton wrote, "Donald Trump’s stance is murky. To those who think Trump will support Israel as he did in his first term, I say simply: think again. Trump’s dislike of Netanyahu is palpable, and, constitutionally barred from winning another term, the importance of US electoral politics to Trump will be much less than before. Trump came within an eyelash of meeting with Javad Zarif, Iran’s former foreign minister, in 2019. He could easily do so in a second term, always in search of a deal, any deal he believes makes him look good."
He concludes that Israel's best target is Iranian nuclear infrastructure. Bolton notes that it constitutes both a military target and a symbol of the regime, making striking it a "conclusive blow" to public support of the regime amongst Iranians. Additionally, and more importantly in terms of reducing international pressure, it does not affect the global fuel market, a significant concern for many of Israel's allies.
"The votes in the USA will have been cast - but Tehran still has a vote to cast as well. Ultimately, the choice will be Israel's," he notes.
Let's pray Trump wins and permanently takes care of Iran on his first day as POTUS which is think is in January.
ReplyDeleteMy suspicious is that, with the pressure of needing to care about re-election gone, Biden will tilt and become straight out pro-Israel as revenge against the Dem's who pushed him out.
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