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U.S. Policy to Israel: Affirm Security, Resist Outright Victory
(RealClear World) Lenny Ben-David - President Trump's acceptance of the Iran regime's demands are unsettling. He has declared that Iran's leaders are reasonable and that Israel's actions in response to Iran and Hizbullah's attacks are irresponsible. For decades, U.S. policy toward Israel has followed a consistent pattern: affirm Israel's security and capacity to deter, while resisting efforts that would produce an outright, transformative Israeli military victory. This approach has recurred across administrations from Dwight Eisenhower through Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama, Donald Trump, and Joe Biden. Washington has often concluded that a managed military outcome better serves long-term American and regional interests than an unqualified victory on the battlefield. The writer, a former AIPAC official and Israeli diplomat, is a research fellow at the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs.