Israel Surrenders

Those supporting peace at any price are celebrating the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas. After 15 months of war, a peace agreement was reached that mirror’s Neville Chamberlain’s piece of paper. Presidents Joe Biden and Donald Trump both rushed to take credit for a deal deserving blame. Israel again surrendered rather than finish the job. Charlie Brown will not be kicking the football. Israel will not receive lasting peace.

Mr. Biden foolishly insists his administration deserves credit. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu repeatedly and properly ignored Biden and Secretary of State Anthony Blinken. Biden and Blinken continued their trend of being spectacularly wrong about war and peace matters. They are the heirs to former President Jimmy Carter’s peace through weakness doctrine.

Mr. Trump is different. He believes in former President Ronald Reagan’s doctrine of peace through strength. There were zero wars during Trump’s first term because his threats of overwhelming force were credible. He vowed to smash ISIS to pieces, and he did. America’s enemies noticed.

Trump has always been a friend of Israel. His Abraham Accords are a major success. He personally admires Israelis, who share his love of military strength and business negotiating skills. He wheels and deals. They shpiel and deal. The admiration is mutual.

Sadly, Trump’s peace deal is a sequel to the terrible Gilad Shalit deal. Israel received two dead bodies and one live soldier in exchange for 1,000 Islamist prisoners including October 7^th mastermind Yah-Ya Sinwar.

Now Israel is accepting some live hostages and dead bodies while releasing more terrorists including the next Sinwar.

For family members of hostages, this deal is good. Their top priority, understandably, is bringing loved ones home. For Israelis unrelated by blood or friendship to the hostages, this deal is a future inevitable nightmare. A weakened Hamas is still alive. Unlike Trump obliterating ISIS, the Israeli Defense Forces were denied the right to smash Hamas and Hezbollah to bits.

Trump supporters insist he has earned the benefit of the doubt. His pro-Israel credentials are significant. If Hamas or Hezbollah attacked Israel again, Trump would encourage Mr. Netanyahu to go full tilt.

This is true, but meaningless. Trump’s strategy makes sense with him in power. Iran will forego meaningful action during his presidency. Iran was economically strangled during his first term.

Iran funds Hamas, Hezbollah and other global Islamist terrorist groups. The mullahs in Iran are the hydra’s heads. They play the long game. They know that in four or eight years, Democrats will retake the White House. Tehran can then restart the jihad party.

Former President Barack Obama gave Iran billions of dollars. Former Secretary of State John Kerry performed shadow diplomacy during the first Trump presidency. Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris continued coddling Iran. Democrats show zero interest in changing their feckless foreign policy approach.

Trump will contain Iran’s Islamists, but containment is not total victory. Even reimposing sanctions on Iran is not dayenu. Hamas and Hezbollah already received their foreign aid. Clawing that money back is impossible.

Hamas and Hezbollah will use the next four years to quietly rebuild, rearm, and reproduce. Their young children will reach Jihad-waging age by 2032. Eight years comes in the blink of an eye. Hamas and Hezbollah had their ambitions delayed but not ended. All the Islamists need is one more Democrat in the White House. Rather than have their nuclear facilities destroyed, Iran will be able to build nuclear bombs.

Israel’s only hope is Hamas or Hezbollah violating the ceasefire. With Trump in power, that is highly unlikely.

Israelis are now free to enjoy a temporary lull. If they thought October 7^th was hell on earth, just wait until the next war that could be 100 times worse. Such is life of Western democratic nations when brilliant military leaders are restrained by political leaders. The IDF won. The Israeli government under heavy American pressure surrendered again.

Eric Golub is a retired stockbrokerage and oil professional living in Los Angeles.