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With Israel's ground offensive under way, it's worth considering how the Biden admin went from cheerleaders for the offensive to skeptics: On the week of Oct 7, many senior officials privately supported a massive response, viewing it as necessary to deter Iran and Hezbollah...
But as days went by and Israelis briefed Washington on their plans, U.S. officials became increasingly concerned that a ground assault would turn into an open-ended quagmire...
After Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin visited Israel on Oct. 13, Pentagon leaders began sharing their worries with the State Department.
3 days later, Blinken held a nearly 8-hour meeting with Israel’s war cabinet, and U.S. diplomats left the meetings worried that the Israelis had not developed a sound and workable military plan. U.S. officials came away more concerned, not less, about regional escalation
Those fears were compounded by messages from Arab leaders (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Egypt, etc) that a full blown invasion and its requisite humanitarian disaster would destabilize the region (and their own grip on power)
Senior officials across the admin are now concerned that a ground invasion will not eradicate Hamas and could derail negotiations to free nearly 200 hostages, and result in excessive bloodshed among Palestinian civilians and Israeli soldiers alike
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