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Israel Brings Deterrence Back to the War on Terror
(Wall Street Journal) Walter Russell Mead - The death in Tehran of Hamas's political leader, Ismail Haniyeh, suggests to the world that its security services are deeply penetrated by Israel. This is a devastating demonstration of incompetence for the regime. In some quarters, Haniyeh is being eulogized as a moderate and Israel's attack on him condemned as prolonging the war. There were hopes in Qatar, Gaza, Turkey and Iran that the U.S. could be bamboozled into supporting a ceasefire leading to a "moderate" Hamas government in a unified West Bank-Gaza Palestinian protostate under Haniyeh's leadership. For many on Team Biden, getting a ceasefire and moving toward establishing a Palestinian state had become America's top objective. To most Israelis, ending the war with the installation of a Hamas-led government in the West Bank is unthinkable. It would reward terror and give Israel's enemies greater power than ever before. The writer, a fellow at the Hudson Institute, is Professor of Foreign Affairs and Humanities at Bard College.