Someone in the Biden-Harris administration does not have the US or Israel’s best interests in mind. A recent leak of highly classified US intelligence data, including some of the latest satellite photos of Israeli preparations for a retaliatory strike on Iran, bears witness to this fact. In addition, the images were accompanied by analysis that reflected the Biden-Harris administration’s fears over what the Israel Defense Force (IDF) was planning. The US national security team has not been keen on Israel doing what is necessary to prevent future Iranian attacks on Israel.
Israel Is at Risk When US Satellite Imagery Leaked.
The IDF still hasn’t responded to Iran’s October 1 missile attack on Israel, and the US has been cautioning the Israeli government to be limited in its response in fear of expanding the Middle East conflict. Don’t strike Iran’s nuclear facilities or oil production, the Biden-Harris national security team warns. According to The New York Times, the analysis of the satellite images in the report could be just a portion of what was leaked. The NYT said:
“The documents describe satellite photos of an Israeli military exercise on Oct. 15 in preparation for a potential retaliatory strike on Iran. Part of the purpose of the exercise was to practice air-to-air refueling and search-and-rescue operations, according to the intelligence report. The exercise involved a force of a similar size to what Israel used in a strike on Yemen on Sept. 29, the report said.”
The leaked documents first appeared on Telegram’s public social media platform, which described the leaker as a member of the US intelligence community. “The two documents were prepared in recent days by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency,” the NYT article went on to explain. Regardless, the reckless and unauthorized release of such sensitive data is not a good look for the Biden-Harris defense team. During a press briefing on October 22, Pentagon Press Secretary Air Force Major General Patrick Ryder received several questions on the leak of US classified information.
When asked if officials from the Defense Department had been in contact with the Israelis, Ryder replied, “Yes, we have, but I’m just not going to be able to get into private discussions on that…The secretary has spoken with his counterpart, but again, I’m just not able to get into details on that.” One can only imagine what a happy conversation that was. Well, yes, Mr. Minister, we were spying on your military preparations for attacking Iran. And, well, the imagery of your aircraft, exercises, and ballistic missile locations were leaked to a popular Iranian social media site. Really sorry about that.
The revelation of the security breach came on the heels of an already strained relationship resulting from the Biden-Harris administration’s persistent call for restraint on the part of the IDF not to be too aggressive in fighting Hamas and Hezbollah. Israel’s good judgment not to put too much stock in the US handwringing may account for the IDF successes to date. The White House’s reaction to the leak was, as has been the case historically, a wait-and-watch approach. “We’re deeply concerned, and the President remains deeply concerned, about any leakage of classified information into the public domain. That is not supposed to happen, and it’s unacceptable when it does. So, he’s deeply concerned about that,” John Kirby, National Security Council spokesman, told a White House press conference. “And you can rest assured that he will be actively monitoring the progress of the investigative effort to figure out how this happened, and obviously, he’ll be very interested in hearing any mitigation measures and recommendations that come as a result,” Kirby told the reporters regarding Biden’s intentions.
US Credibility in Providing Advice Is Eroding
Additionally, the timing of the leak was not helpful. The news of the US spying on Israel’s preparations to attack Iran provided an uncomfortable backdrop for US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s eleventh visit to Israel, which started on October 23. Gaining Israel’s government officials’ confidence that conversations will remain confidential may be tricky. This latest breach of security may not be the first. Amit Segal, a political analyst with a Jerusalem television station, asserted: “There is a reason why Israel avoided informing the US in advance about the elimination of Nasrallah and the pagers operation. This reason is the systematic prior leaking of Israeli operations over the past year.”
US credibility in counseling the Israeli government on how to prosecute its defensive war against enemies on four fronts is suspect. Not so long ago, the Biden-Harris administration emphatically warned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to send IDF troops into the southern Gaza city of Rafah. During a recent operation in Rafah, the IDF found and killed the leader of the Iran-backed Hamas terrorists Yahya Sinwar, who was the chief architect of the October 7, 2023, attack on Israel that killed 1,200 civilians and led to over 250 hostages being taken. The news prompted President Biden to crow: “This is a good day for Israel, for the United States, and the world.” What the Biden-Harris national security team failed to mention was that had the IDF paid any attention to the Biden-Harris instructions and not gone into Rafah, Sinwar would most likely still be alive and spreading death.
Now, one of the messages Blinken is carrying to the talks in Israel is that the killing of Sinwar presents an opportunity for productive ceasefire negotiations and the release of US and Israeli hostages still being held by Hamas. The question that put these talks in jeopardy is why Israel would listen to the US about what it should and should not do.
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