And it still seems unclear what they thought they could get from the war in the first place.
0bytes•17m ago
Distraction from the Epstein files
Which supposedly were a distraction for high inflation and the tariff disaster.
ben_w•15m ago
I think the gambit was Israel's (or possibly personally Netanyahu's), not the USA's:
On the basis that they have been recently talking about reducing dependence on the USA for military assistance*, I think they are aware of just how unpopular their actions in Gaza have made them worldwide, and in particular to voters in the USA. Even without being actively denied, there's also at least a strong risk** (to Israel) that Trump will be permanently distracted by repeated impeachment attempts starting in November, leaving no time for this. Either way, this has the potential to be Israel's last chance to use the American military for Israel's own objectives.
Netanyahu may have also made a person gamble here, rather than one in the national interest of Israel; he's already facing trial for stuff, seems to only be avoiding the courtroom by doing things he can credibly argue are of critical importance to national security and not simply by his position, and this may have been one last throw of the dice to get a good headline and good vibes going into their election; and/or start another war that couldn't possibly have him distracted by court cases (I can't say I know enough about the politics of the area to say if this was or wasn't why Iran was followed up with news about Israeli forces in Syria).
All Netanyahu had to do was push the right buttons, tell Trump it would be easy, state there would be any problems, and possibly tell Trump everyone would like him for attacking.
MattGaiser•30m ago
0bytes•17m ago
ben_w•15m ago
On the basis that they have been recently talking about reducing dependence on the USA for military assistance*, I think they are aware of just how unpopular their actions in Gaza have made them worldwide, and in particular to voters in the USA. Even without being actively denied, there's also at least a strong risk** (to Israel) that Trump will be permanently distracted by repeated impeachment attempts starting in November, leaving no time for this. Either way, this has the potential to be Israel's last chance to use the American military for Israel's own objectives.
Netanyahu may have also made a person gamble here, rather than one in the national interest of Israel; he's already facing trial for stuff, seems to only be avoiding the courtroom by doing things he can credibly argue are of critical importance to national security and not simply by his position, and this may have been one last throw of the dice to get a good headline and good vibes going into their election; and/or start another war that couldn't possibly have him distracted by court cases (I can't say I know enough about the politics of the area to say if this was or wasn't why Iran was followed up with news about Israeli forces in Syria).
All Netanyahu had to do was push the right buttons, tell Trump it would be easy, state there would be any problems, and possibly tell Trump everyone would like him for attacking.
* https://www.nbcnews.com/world/israel/netanyahu-hopes-taper-i...
** Risk, not guarantee. Even if this was a 30% chance, if you were playing Israel in a wargame, would you take those odds?