The Israeli killings of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Iran and Hezbollah commander Fouad Shukr in Lebanon have raised the risk of all-out war in the Middle East and complicated Israel-Hamas negotiations for peace in Gaza.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken Commented On July 19, Israel announced that negotiations with Hamas to free the American hostages were “within the 10-yard line,” making the prospects for an early release of the hostages suddenly look slim. It’s time for the U.S. to stop waiting for a diplomatic outcome to bring Americans home and ask Israel to do what it needs to do.
While Israel engages in diplomatic efforts to recover its citizens, it has never hesitated to launch raids to rescue its own citizens.
On June 8, Israeli forces entered the Nuseira area of Gaza to free the four hostages, a high-risk operation that resulted in heavy casualties with around 100 people killed. according to to the Israeli military (there was no distinction between combatants and civilians), but Israel achieved its goal of returning its citizens.
There are many possible reasons why the Biden administration has not launched a similar operation to rescue the five surviving American hostages held by Hamas. Perhaps they don’t know where the hostages are, or they don’t want to risk being executed during the raid. Perhaps these are good reasons for withdrawal. Either way, we have not seen any U.S. troops deployed on the ground.
If the Biden administration is refraining from raids because it does not want U.S. special forces to take part in a firefight in Gaza, or because it wants to avoid losing the support of pro-Palestinian American voters if civilian casualties occur, it is putting politics above the lives of American people.
American soldiers are well equipped to carry out a rescue. After a failed mission to rescue Americans held hostage by Iran in 1980, U.S. special operations teams Rebuilt To accomplish what President Jimmy Carter’s aborted raid had failed to do.
Today, U.S. special forces have a track record of successfully infiltrating hostages into hostage-hit environments. Opponents of a U.S. military presence in Gaza must remember that one well-placed raid is not the same as a long-term U.S. military presence.
The Biden administration has returned to a hostage rescue philosophy that views military operations as a last resort, an approach that gives hostage takers the embolden to capture Americans with little fear of losing their lives.
During the Trump administration, Robert O’Brien, the special presidential envoy for hostage affairs (and later national security adviser), often took the opposite approach, prioritizing military as well as diplomatic means to free hostages.
The military option adopted under President Trump has allowed wrongfully detained Americans to return home without compromise — think Navy SEALs, for example. relief In 2020, they rescued American Philip Walton, who had been held captive in Nigeria. United Arab Emirates and French The deployment of troops to transport released U.S. citizens on the ground was also authorized.
But as O’Brien knew, the greatest value of the military option is in its power to deter terrorists or criminals from taking hostages in the first place. If Yahya Sinwar and the rest of Hamas’ leaders had known that the United States would open fire on them if even one American was killed or captured, the October 7 attack might never have happened in the first place.
The Biden administration offered a glimpse of risk-tolerant leadership last week when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke to Congress.
Prime Minister Netanyahu himself is negotiating with Hamas to reach an agreement that would include the release of the captured Americans. At the same time, he has endured immense pressure from Israeli and American politicians to block Israel’s violent removal of Hamas from the Gaza Strip. Prime Minister Netanyahu’s critics fail to understand that Israel’s ongoing military operation is part of what is forcing Hamas to reach an agreement that would include the return of the American hostages.
That makes the callous disregard for Netanyahu’s speech by Vice President Kamala Harris and a significant number of Democrats seem all the more disrespectful. By the grace of God, the five Americans currently held captive in Hamas dungeons will soon be home, but the Biden administration’s soft stance will get little credit for their return.
Adam Borah is the former CEO of the International Development Finance Corporation, was part of the negotiating team for the Abraham Accords and has negotiated with the Taliban on multiple occasions.
