Israel skeptical about US strategy on IS
While the US finds a new interlocutor in Israel's opposition leader, the Israeli security establishment is not reassured by President Barack Obama's latest speech, since it fears that much like Hamas, the Islamic State cannot be defeated by airstrikes alone.
Several hours before US President Barack Obama delivered his Sept. 10 speech to the nation outlining the campaign against the Islamic State (IS), the chairman of Israel’s parliamentary opposition, Knesset member Isaac "Buji" Herzog, met with two top officials in the White House: Chief of Staff Denis McDonough and Antony Blinken, the deputy to national security adviser Susan Rice. Herzog was granted prestigious quality time with those closest to the president, after a lengthy meeting the previous day with Bill and Hillary Clinton, who have a fairly good chance, at least for now, of returning to the White House in a little over two years.
Herzog got the impression that America was back. The senior American officials emphasized to him that it had never left. They laid out for him the extent of US activities around the world in general, and in the Middle East in particular. They told him about the successful targeted killing the previous week in Somalia, they stressed that the US commitment to maintaining the peace and security of its allies was as strong as ever.
Between the lines, one could sense that the Americans understood the depth of the crisis of confidence between the Obama administration and its various allies in the region. Herzog understood that the policy of “leading from behind” had exhausted itself. The United States was taking back the reins, no longer from the back, but from the forefront. He was also given a clear promise that the United States had no intention of relaxing its positions vis-a-vis Iran in the negotiations over its nuclear program, even if and when the Iranians joined efforts against IS. One had nothing to with the other, the president’s aides told him; we continue to be committed to stopping the Iranian nuclear project. The United States will not allow a nuclear-capable Iran, full stop.
The Americans want very much to cultivate an Israeli interlocutor. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is out of the question. He and Obama will no longer enjoy each other’s company. When they meet, both will get the same heartburn. After Obama’s remark several weeks ago on Aug. 8 that Netanyahu was more popular than he, there was no hope left for them. Operation Protective Edge, which damaged Netanyahu’s image, especially among his natural constituency, has started raising old-new hopes. Herzog was a very welcome guest in Washington this week.
