Last month, the Watson Institute for International Public Affairs released the following exposé report: cost To American taxpayers for the war in Gaza. Since October 2023, Israel's war on Gaza and more recently on Lebanon has cost the United States $22 billion.
The report explains that this is only an officially released figure, and that bureaucratic tactics have been used to obscure the total amount of aid and the types of schemes involved.
A particularly notable example is 100 individual weapon deals Between October 2023 and March 2024, Israel's dollar value fell below the threshold that requires a report to Congress.
Last week, the International Criminal Court issued the following judgment: arrest warrant Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for “crimes against humanity and war crimes committed between at least October 8, 2023 and at least May 20, 2024.” The European Union and Canada said they would abide by the decision.
At about the same time, the United States became the only country on the Security Council exercise the right of veto UN resolution calling for ceasefire and release of hostages. This prompted criticism of the Biden administration for once again blocking the international community from halting a devastating war that is pushing the Levant to the brink of full-scale conflict.
Additionally, just a few days ago, Israel US deadline This was expected to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza by allowing aid to flow into the Strip, otherwise facing legal consequences. As the situation for civilians in the Gaza Strip becomes increasingly dire, the Israeli government has shown no support for any actions that violate international law. Yet the Biden administration turned a blind eye.
It has now become clear that rescuing the hostages abducted on October 7 is no longer a top priority for Netanyahu's government. Instead, it appears to be using the U.S. green light and a blank check to advance more ambitious goals. “Greater Israel” Expansionist ideology, previously dismissed as a conspiracy theory, is proving to be very real.
Last month, these ambitions of the Israeli far right were exposed. In an interview with Arte, a European cultural channel that broadcasts in French and German, Minister of Finance Bezalel Smotrich; Israel said it would expand “little by little” until it reached Damascus.
Israel's far-right has nevertheless become a key support for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to maintain power. long-standing suspicions of corruption. Prime Minister Netanyahu is willing to do whatever they ask in exchange for clinging to power. The war has reached across Gaza, across southern Lebanon, into the middle of Beirut and into a mountain town on the Syrian border, an hour's drive from Damascus.
Whether Israel's ambitions will be achieved is not the issue here. The real mystery is what the Biden administration is insisting on, against the international community, international law, and the voices of millions of Americans, in order to maintain unequivocal support for war criminals' expansionist policies. . What justifies this overreach in trying to spend taxpayers' money, both through public channels and behind-the-scenes bureaucratic maneuvering? Even in a lame duck state, the Biden administration is asserting its position.
This is a symptom of the sunk cost fallacy. This is a cognitive bias that occurs when decision makers continue to commit resources to a goal despite clearly suboptimal outcomes. In this bias, decision-makers tend to justify the loss of human life and increased financial and diplomatic costs because they do not want to waste past investments for that purpose. Bureaucracy pushes for the continuation of such commitments due to inertia and groupthink that ignore important discussions that influence decision-making.
It's time to recognize this absurdity. The United States needs to reassess its foreign policy priorities and realign them with its values and long-term strategic interests in the region. U.S. support should be conditioned on Israel's commitment to complying with international law, human rights, and ensuring sustainable peace and a two-state solution.
Staying with the sunk cost fallacy will only make the dire situation in the Middle East even worse and continue to damage America's reputation on the international stage, while wasting billions of taxpayer dollars. Probably.
Sima Beitinjaneh is a student at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) and a fellow at the Foreign Policy Institute.
