The Yom Kippur War broke out 48 years ago today. Egypt and Syria attacked Israel by surprise on the holiest day of the Jewish calendar. Israel found itself on the brink of defeat. A few observations follow, with relevance today: history.com/topics/middle-…
1. Israel was vulnerable to attack then, and it is still vulnerable today. It’s small size and proximity to enemies means that it must always be vigilant, even pro-active.
2. Intelligence failures happened then, and still happen now. The Middle East is still hard to predict.
3. American officials cynically withheld military assistance to try and gain leverage. Israel was nearly pushed to take measures that would have literally changed the map of the Middle East. Take note, Hamas Caucus.
4. Golda Meir failed hard. History treats her too kindly,
I’ve been watching hot takes on Biden-Israel for days. Slow down, folks. A few observations:
1. Biden gave Israel full freedom to operate against Hamas. He didn’t equivocate. It was full support. Full stop.
2. The president’s tough talk with Bibi only started after the ceasefire was announced. It was a blank check to signal to the angry, progressive left that he was being tough on Israel.
3. Yes, Biden touted the 80 phone calls his administration made during the course of the war. But he made no serious investment to end the conflict. Hady Amr, a DAS, was the most senior US envoy. Reality: Biden left it to Egypt and other regional states to solve
Bibi now live to Israel, touting damage to the “metro” system of Hamas, and other military capabilities, while endeavoring to minimizing casualties. Says that bringing calm will take time. Thanks Biden and other leaders for support.
Bibi notes a drop in violence from the Arab community in Israel. This was an area of grave concern when it began. Notes the need to engage with the Arab community after this. The right message here, IMHO.
Now Gantz: also underscores that operations against Hamas will continue, but stressed the need to take the temperature down at home. Sensing a theme here...
Israeli channel 13 broadcasts the flattening of a Gaza building that the IDF determined to be a Hamas asset.
This appears to be the building that housed the AP & Jazeera bureaus....
This was apparently the building that Israeli reporters earlier noted that received warnings, cell phone messages and a “knock-knock” munition, warning of an imminent strike.