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U.S.-Israel Military Exercises Will Not Deter Iran without Changes in Washington's Policy
(Washington Institute for Near East Policy) Michael Eisenstadt - On January 23-26, the U.S. and Israel held their largest-ever bilateral military exercise. Yet no series of military exercises - no matter how impressive - will assure friends and deter adversaries without changes to Washington's flawed policy toward Iran. The Juniper Oak exercise aimed in part to demonstrate America's power projection capabilities and its capacity to focus on the Middle East while managing a war in Europe and tensions in the Indo-Pacific region. Washington's friends and adversaries do not doubt its demonstrated ability to project power. They doubt its commitment and resolve. U.S. credibility has been undermined by a failure to respond more assertively to attacks on U.S. targets and partners in the region. President Biden's administration has responded overtly only three times to scores of drone, rocket, and improvised explosive device attacks on U.S. personnel and interests in Iraq and Syria. In the nuclear domain, Washington needs to draw a red line to halt Tehran's ongoing fissile material buildup. Specifically, it should ramp up sanctions enforcement and signal that uranium enrichment beyond 60% will cause the U.S. to disrupt these activities and impose heavy costs on Iran. The writer is director of the Military and Security Studies Program at The Washington Institute.