DEBKAfile, Political Analysis, Espionage, Terrorism, Security

DEBKAfile, Political Analysis, Espionage, Terrorism, Security

By faulting Israel at this late stage for not using its military strength for political gains, is the Obama administration showing impatience with the Netanyahu government for its exaggerated military restraint? In almost three years in power, Netanyahu, Barak and Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman have managed to avoid a single military campaign for diplomatic ends – an almost unique demonstration of passivity in the annals of Israeli governments.
Are the Americans now saying this was a mistake?

Panetta seems to be saying that by not applying Israel's military prowess in the dramatically changing times in the Middle East Israeli leaders failed as statesmen.

debkafile's military sources find three fallacies in the new American position articulated by Leon Panetta:
1. The Netanyahu government took no part in arousing, causing or taking sides in the ongoing Arab uprisings in Tunisia, Egypt, Syria, Libya and Yemen.

According to the latest military and intelligence evaluations in Washington, eleven months of tumult have not produced the results the US hoped for. The United States – and not just Israel – appears to be increasingly isolated in the Middle East with the resulting curtailment of its leeway for determining events.
2. The Obama administration and Panetta's predecessor Robert Gates not only objected strongly to Israel taking military action to preempt Iran's nuclear program or even its spreading influence across the Middle East up to Israel's very borders and the arming of its surrogates.
Sanctions failed

Instead, President Obama repeatedly persuaded Israel to wait patiently for the US and international community to bestir themselves and impose sanctions certain to bring about the Iranian economy to collapse and starve its nuclear program of resources. This was a bad miscalculation because in the event those sanctions failed and the Iranian economy, along with its nuclear weapons program, is thriving.

But meanwhile Washington held Israel firmly back from "projecting its military strength."

3. Like most of the West, Israel praised the "Arab Spring" which claimed to be dedicated to bringing democracy to the Arab world. Israel - even more than the US - should have known better.
By tacitly approving Hosni Mubarak's overthrow as Egyptian president, the Netanyahu government erred badly. It is more than likely that by taking a stand against the revolt, like Saudi Arabia, Israel would have won more respect from the Egyptian military led by Field Marshal Mohammed Tantawi who took his place, in consideration of its military strength.
But Israel could on no account afford to sit on its military hands when Sinai veered out of Egyptian control and the pipeline carrying natural gas to Israel was sabotaged six times by terrorists.
This passivity allowed the strategic Sinai peninsula to become the hub of Islamist terrorists dedicated to fighting Israel and be used as the highway for Libyan arms, including anti-air missiles, to be smuggled into the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip and other unruly Middle East destinations.

The Obama Regime has even a worse foreign policy than economic policy from the standpoint of the United States of America.

But they are as good as you can get at corruption, destruction, and obstruction when it comes to America.