Feb. 20, 2018
The U.S. Should Not Expect Israel to Crush Iran's Imperialist
Aggression Alone
Dear Friend of FLAME:
Israel's forceful response to an Iranian drone that recently invaded
Israeli air space from Syria certainly sent a message both to Syria and
Iran. Some reports claim Israel destroyed fully half of Syria's air defense capability and almost certainly killed a
few Iranian drone operatives.
But despite some strong "attaboys" from the U.S. State Department, which
defended Israel's right to defend itself from acts of aggression, the Trump
White House seems to have no firm strategy for countering increasing
Iranian imperialism.
While the Obama administration was exceedingly lax in dealing with
Iran—particularly in the face of its negotiations of the benighted Iran
Nuclear Deal—President Trump has thankfully talked tougher.
The Trump administration has declared Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps a
terrorist entity and imposed new sanctions on it. U.S. ambassador
Nikki Haley has consistently condemned the Islamic Republic at the U.N.
All well and good. But since Iran continues to increase its fortifications
on the ground in Iraq, Yemen, Syria and Lebanon, it's time for Mr. Trump to back
his strident words with military action against Iranian interests. The U.S.
and other allies must join Israel in raising the stakes—and the
out-of-pocket costs—for Iran's headlong hegemonic drive from Teheran
through Baghdad and Damascus to Beirut.
In August 2017, Russia warned Israel not to attack Iranian military
positions in Syria, yet Israel has persisted in defending itself.
Indeed, Israel has bravely and consistently blocked Syrian and Iranian
attempts to arm Hizbollah terrorists on its borders—having flown dozens of
successful bombing sorties over Syria in 2017.
Unless the U.S. joins the fray, Israel and Iran are destined for major
conflict. It's one thing for Israel to provide a first line of defense
against Iran, but it's unfair, unwise and unnecessary for Israel to
carry out the battle singlehandedly. The U.S. and Europe have every
interest in stopping Iran's march to the Mediterranean and every interest
in protecting their ally Israel.
Moreover, the U.S. has the military might to stop Iran instantly in its
tracks, preventing serious destabilization of the Middle East and the rest
of the world. A few sharp-elbowed U.S. attacks on select Iranian
assets in Syria would do the trick.
This week's FLAME Hotline-featured article analyzes how tensions
between Israel and Iran are likely to explode into a regional conflagration and what role the U.S. should
play. Authors Tony Badran and Jonathan Schanzer of the Foundation for the
Defense of Democracies also explain how the complex American-Russian
relationship affects U.S. options.
I hope you'll forward this concise, but insightful email to friends, family
and fellow congregants to help them understand why the U.S. must stand up to Iran (and Russia) and continue to support Israel in the
world's most dangerous neighborhood.
I hope you'll also quickly review the P.S. immediately below, which
describes FLAME's latest hasbarah campaign to directly urge the President and U.S. Congress to back up their rhetoric
on Iran with definitive action. I hope you agree with and will support
this message.
Best regards,
Jim Sinkinson
President, Facts and Logic About the Middle East (FLAME)
P.S. |
As you know, Iran has become the largest state sponsor of global
terrorism and the most dangerous enemy of the U.S. What's worse, the
Islamic Republic continues to spread its jihadist tentacles throughout the
Middle East, and now has armed forces on Israel's borders in Syria and
Lebanon. No wonder FLAME has created a new editorial message—"We Must Stop Iran Now"—which is about to start running in mainstream magazines and newspapers, including college newspapers, with a combined
readership of some 10 million people. In addition, it is being sent to
every member of the U.S. Congress and President Trump. If you agree that
this kind of public relations effort on Israel's behalf is critical, I urge
you to support us. Remember: FLAME's powerful ability to influence public
opinion—and U.S. support of Israel—comes from individuals like you, one by
one. I hope you'll consider giving a donation now, as you're able—with
$500, $250, $100, or even $18. (Remember, your donation to FLAME is tax
deductible.) To donate online, just go to donate now. Now, more than ever, we need your support to ensure that the American
people, the U.S. Congress and President Trump stay focused on —and take
actions against—Iran's threat to our country, Israel and the entire world.
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The Iran-Israel War Flares Up
The fight is over a Qods Force presence on the Syria-Israel border. How
will the U.S. respond?
By Tony Badran and Jonathan Schanzer, Wall Street Journal, Feb.
11, 2018
The conflict between Israel and Iran may be heating up
after a half-decade simmer. On Friday night Iran dispatched a drone from
Syria that penetrated Israeli airspace in the Golan Heights. Israel
destroyed it with an Apache helicopter. Then on Saturday Israel sent eight
F-16s across the border to strike the airfield in the Homs governorate,
called the T-4 base, where the drone originated, as well as a handful of
other Iranian targets. Although the mission was a success, one F-16 was
shot down by Syrian antiaircraft fire—though the pilot made it back to
Israel, where he and his navigator ejected successfully.
This was the most significant clash to date between Israel and the
so-called Axis of Resistance—Iran, Syria's Assad regime and Hezbollah—since
Iran began deploying soldiers and proxies to Syria six years ago. Israel
insists its response was limited and its intent is to contain this
conflagration. Its critics worry that the skirmish could explode into one
of the worst wars the Middle East has ever seen.
The Iranians have been exploiting the chaos of the Syrian civil war to
build up military assets there that target Israel, all the while sending
advanced weaponry to Lebanon by way of Damascus, also under the fog of war.
The Israelis have been vigilant; they have destroyed some of this hardware
in Syria with one-off strikes. In December they struck an Iranian base
southwest of Damascus, some 30 miles from the Golan Heights. But they had
never entered Syria with the kind of overwhelming force seen on Saturday
morning.
What prompted this level of response is still unclear.
Israeli military officials won't say whether the Iranian unmanned aerial
vehicle was armed. It would be a surprise, though, if Israel's reprisal was
prompted by an unarmed UAV. Indeed, this was not the first drone incursion
into the Golan Heights. Last year, Israel's missile defenses intercepted
several Iranian-built drones, operated by Hezbollah, attempting to enter
Israeli airspace from Syria.
The Israel Defense Forces had warned that the T-4 base was crawling with
fighters from Iran's Qods Force, an arm of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard
Corps. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had paid multiple visits to Moscow
hoping to convince President Vladimir Putin to curb the threatening
activities of Iran and its proxies. Mr. Putin has established a formidable
presence in Syria since 2015, when his forces entered the country
ostensibly to combat Islamic State.
The Israelis took a significant risk Saturday of rankling the Russians,
especially since they reportedly did not warn Moscow of the attack in
advance. Russian personnel sometimes embed with Syrian air-defense units
and are sometimes present at the T-4 base. Thus the strike might have been
intended as a message to the Russians as much as to the Iranian axis.
Whether Russia had advance knowledge of the Iranian drone operation
isn't clear. Nor do we know whether Russia was involved in unleashing the
Syrian surface-to-air missiles that downed the Israeli F-16. What we do
know is that after many Israeli airstrikes in Syria over many months, this
was the first time Syrian antiaircraft weapons managed to hit a target.
That points toward Russian involvement.
Even so, the Israelis were not deterred from launching, within hours, a
second wave of airstrikes against additional Iranian and Syrian targets,
including air-defense sites, many of which likely had been monitored for
months. According to Israeli sources, the second wave was the largest
aerial attack against Syria since the Lebanon war of 1982, when the Israeli
Air Force hammered Syria's Soviet-built surface-to-air missile batteries in
the Bekaa Valley.
Now all eyes are on Israel as it mulls its next moves. For Jerusalem, the
status quo is unsustainable. The Iranians are clearly willing to absorb
tactical strikes so long as they are able to consolidate their strategic
position, which will prepare them for a future conflict with the Jewish
state. So while Israel's political leaders are eager to avoid conflict, the
military brass may soon determine that postponing it would be the riskier
course.
The Israelis also are working the phones with the Trump administration,
which has affirmed Israel's right to defend itself. That declaration will
carry significance as Israel considers its options. Washington continues to
tweak its new policy of targeting Iran with multiple instruments of
American power. But this policy is encumbered somewhat by the White House's
agreement with Russia to maintain a "de-escalation zone" in southwest
Syria—an agreement that clearly benefits Iran and the status quo.
The Pentagon and State Department have already condemned Iran and thrown
their support behind Israel. The question now is whether the Trump
administration will go further. In a speech last month unveiling the
administration's strategy for Syria, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson
affirmed that the U.S. seeks not only to ensure its allies' security but to
deny Iran its "dreams of a northern arch" from Tehran to Beirut. A good way
to achieve both objectives would be to back Israel's responses to Iran's
aggression-now and in the future.
Mr. Badran is a research fellow and Mr. Schanzer senior vice president
for research of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.
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