He Who Hesitates ...

President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Anthony Blinken have “suggested” that Israel “pause” in its offensive against Hamas in Gaza to allow aid into that area for the relief of the humanitarian crisis there.  Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has wisely refused. 

The suggestion illustrates why America needs a new Commander in Chief.  It is ignorant, naïve, and stupid.  There is no disrespect to the President intended.  It is just the truth, and I can’t think of any other way to say it. 

In effect, a pause is a temporary ceasefire.  Suggesting a pause exposes Biden and Blinken’s ignorance of the basic principles of war.  Armies go on the offensive to find, fix, close with and destroy enemy forces.  Offensive operations provide the opportunity to seize, retain, and exploit the initiative (acting rather than reacting), get and keep momentum, and to keep the enemy off balance and on the defensive.  All of that is lost when there is a halt to remaining on the offensive. 

It is naïve to believe that Hamas would not use a pause to take the humanitarian aid for themselves.  They have done it before.  They are the ones who will not allow Palestinian civilian refugees to leave the country, and they are the ones who use civilians as human shields.  Does the Biden Administration really think a pause would cause Hamas to allow civilians to flee the fighting?  They have not stopped firing rockets and missiles into Israel for years.  Why would anyone believe Hamas would live up to an agreement to stop now?  Hamas will use any kind of pause to regroup and retrench, making an already hellish fight worse for the IDF. 

The naiveté is intensified by the futile hope that if we are just nice enough to the leaders of Iran and its proxies, then maybe they will like us and be nice to us.  It smacks of Barack Obama’s infamous apology tour.  They hate us because they regard us as infidels, and we support Israel while blocking their efforts to establish a worldwide Califate by force.  Further, they believe that our materialistic, hedonistic society lures Muslim youth away from a strict application of their religion to their style of living. No amount of weak-kneed accommodation is going to change that. 

The ”suggestion” of a pause puts Israel in the position of being compelled by the reality of their situation to refuse.  Thus, it detracts from the perceived legitimacy of Israel’s efforts to defend itself.  Consequently, it is stupid because it plays into the hands of Iran and its proxies who are sworn enemies of the United States.  Do you think they haven’t made themselves our enemies?  If they haven't, then why are they always shouting, “Death to America!”?  They mean it, and getting rid of Israel is just a prelude to the “death” of America that they so fervently desire. 

A pause may help to gain the release of at least some of the hostages, but it would also encourage terrorists around the world to take more hostages - in order to avoid the consequences of their heinous actions.  Again, it is stupid because, regrettably, it plays into the hands of those who would use terroristic violence to achieve their ends.  It puts thousands more people at risk, by increasing their vulnerability to being taken hostage. The Biden Administration and the Democrats are pandering to worldwide demonstrations in favor of the Palestinians, to positions being taken by the UN, and to a political base at home that includes intellectuals and students who support the Palestinians, and also includes most of the Muslim refugees and immigrants who have settled here. 

The United States cannot afford to act in ways that our enemies will perceive to be weakness.  We need a strong Commander in Chief. 

“He who hesitates is lost.” *  It would be a strategic blunder for Israel to pause at this point in their offensive operations in Gaza.  They waited the better part of a month to begin it, in part to give the Palestinian civilians in Gaza a chance to leave, but Hamas would not let their human shields get away.  To survive, Israel must destroy Hamas; not submit to Joe Biden’s pressure to deescalate.

 

*This quote is sometimes credited to Cato, however, many sources say it is a paraphrase of a line spoken by the character, Cato, in Joseph Addison’s 1712 play, Cato, a Tragedy.