Washington
Washington must recalculate its strategic approach to the Middle East – opinion
Subject to decisions pending in Tehran in response to the double-targeted killings of senior Hezbollah and Hamas officials, Israel now seems on the brink of a multi-front regional conflagration.
Is victory assured? At what cost? Could White House Special Envoy Amos Hochstein’s diplomatic ploy eventually prevail? The initiatives are left to Iran and its proxies, but should Israel identify imminent preparations for attack, it will likely act to preempt.
To date, Israel and Hezbollah have been engaged in a limited war of attrition. On October 8, 2023, Hezbollah joined Hamas in waging war on Israel. Lebanon’s Iranian proxy declaratively sought to apply tactical pressure on Israel’s Northern front.
It seemingly succeeded, effectively forcing the IDF to split its forces, with a recorded northern deployment of between three to five Divisions, manned by a reservists call-up, amounting to a force of roughly 300-thousand troops.
During the initial stages of the war, Jerusalem’s War Cabinet deliberated whether to launch a two-front offensive against Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon. IDF Chief of General Staff Lt.-Gen. Herzi Halevi and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant voted in favor, while former War Cabinet Ministers Benny Gantz and Gadi Eisenkot voted against.
Netanyahu and the US
Ultimately, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ruled in favor of the latter position after President Joe Biden held a phone conversation with the Israeli premier and threatened to pull US military support unless the IDF limits its retaliatory strikes to territories south of the Litani River and refrain from targeting Lebanon’s critical infrastructure, altogether.
Nine months later, the Biden Administration remains proactively determined to de-escalate daily cross-border hostilities, leveraging crucial ammunition shipments as one of its methods to effectively control Israel’s battle intensity versus Hezbollah in Lebanon.
In doing so, Washington hopes to buy enough time to secure a temporary arrangement, utilizing Parliament Speaker Nabi Berri, leader of the Shi’ite Amal Movement, as a mediator.
However, a senior Israeli intelligence official ascertained, “Berri has no leverage over Hezbollah,” rather, “it is the other way around.” Hezbollah evidently maintains the upper hand in negotiations, irrespective of the Biden Administration’s hopes and aspirations.
The majority of Israel’s defense and political elites seemingly believe the rationale articulated by Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah.
“On that day, when the shooting stops in Gaza, we will stop the shooting in the south [of Lebanon],” Nasrallah insisted in one of his many televised addresses. In daily conversations with Israeli intelligence officials and military officers, broad sentiments of wishful thinking linger vis-à-vis achieving a negotiated solution.
“Even Netanyahu hopes for a diplomatic outcome”, one official told me, as he subsequently professed that Jerusalem would much rather fight Hezbollah once fully equipped with a long list of new military technologies on the verge of operational integration.
Nevertheless, despite hopes for a peaceful resolution, no one in Jerusalem or Tel Aviv is under delusion. Tens of thousands of displaced Israelis will not return to their homes unless a sense of security is achieved.
Moreover, in stark contrast to popular belief regarding Iran supposedly restraining Hezbollah, the Ayatollah regime has a vested strategic interest in fueling the war within current established parameters, as it remains evasive of paying any substantive toll for its belligerent activities, while its heavily armed Lebanese proxy showcases battle-discipline, worthy of most Western militaries, with clear pre-planned objectives. Nevertheless, prospects for miscalculation are seemingly intensifying with every passing day.
Despite popular belief, Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah’s intensive efforts to catalog regional hostilities as a response to the Palestinian plight is a cheap ruse. The current multi-front Mideast war is not a simple case of causality rooted in the Israel-Palestinian conflict.
Rather, we’re witnessing the prudent implementation of Iran’s strategic schemes, as was envisioned by its slain IRGC Quds Force commander Qassem Suleimani, as part of which Hamas is a key factor in Iran’s ars bellica, for both the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, as well as the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.
Last week, in a conversation with Major General (Res) Gershon Ha-Cohen, a former General Staff and Northern Corps’ commander, he cautioned that US White House Envoy Amos Hochstein was seeking to formulate a deal that would undoubtedly spell ‘defeat marred by painful concessions for Israel.’
Hochstein essentially seeks to force Israel’s hand to concede border-lands in exchange for a temporary withdrawal of Hezbollah operatives several miles northward. “What’s to stop those operatives from returning to the south [of Lebanon], five minutes after an agreement is signed?” General Ha-Cohen questioned with an evident sense of frustration. “They demand of us an irreversible concession in exchange for a reversible act.”
Purportedly ignoring Iran’s grand strategy, the Biden Administration is doubling down on pressuring Israel to accept the proposed deal for a Northern ceasefire. Israeli National Security Advisor Tzachi Hanegbi and Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer met with US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and Secretary of State Antony Blinken, during the course of which they demanded assurances.
In the event that Hezbollah breaches the terms of a proposed US-led arrangement, the United States would support Israel in waging a full-scale war against Hezbollah, with the aim of destroying the Iranian proxy once and for all. ‘Without such an assurance,’ Hanegbi and Dermer insisted, Israel’s ‘northern residents would not gain the sense of security necessary to return to their homes,’ a Jerusalem pre-requisite for any diplomatic solution.
Washington must recalculate its strategic approach to the Middle East. It cannot push to de-escalate the region without asking some tough questions on a so-called ‘strategic day after.’
Does the Biden Team’s approach benefit US strategic interests for decades to come? Or does it play into the hands of its adversaries, including Iran, Russia, and China? Despite the Biden-Harris Administration’s evident conviction of the former, regional actors, including allies and adversaries alike, are seemingly convinced of the latter.
The only way forward is for Washington to reassert its dominance in the Middle East. To do so, without the need to commit additional military assets to the CENTCOM Area of Responsibility (AOR), it should reinvigorate tangible support for its Mideastern allies and partners, including Israel, in confronting the so-called Axis of Resistance led by Iran.
The United States must counter Tehran’s grand strategy by pushing for an expansion of the Abraham Accords and reviving military support for its regional partners, including the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, to confront Iran’s regional encroachment via its proxies.
Washington must revitalize its maximum economic pressure campaign against the Islamic Republic proper and enforce its sanctions by all means necessary. European powers, for their part, must stand in support of the United States by triggering the snap-back mechanism before it expires in October of 2025, aimed at derailing Tehran’s nuclear train as it races at full steam ahead.
As for Israel and the pragmatic Arab camp, they must join forces to implement a campaign of reality-building to push back on Iran’s malign encroachment by effectively inserting much-needed hope for a future of peace and prosperity for all peoples of the Middle East.
Jonathan Hessen is a nonresident senior fellow at the Washington-based Hudson Institute, editor-in-chief of TV7 Israel, and CEO of HGS. He specializes in geostrategy and security issues related to the Middle East and Europe.
Washington
Hulking four-star Arizona OL commits to Cal over Washington football
The Washington Huskies saw one of their most hotly contested offensive line targets in the 2027 class go elsewhere on Saturday afternoon when four-star offensive lineman DaJohn Yarborough announced his pledge to the California Golden Bears
The 6-foot-5, 340-pound product of Basha High School in Arizona, who is ranked as the nation’s No. 426 overall prospect and No. 25 interior offensive lineman by the 247Sports Composite, picked coach Tosh Lupoi and the Golden Bears out of a final four that also included Florida State, Mississippi State, and UW.
Although his junior year was cut short due to a fractured ankle, Fisch and offensive line coach Michael Switzer kept up a strong relationship with the hulking prospect, who has the size, physicality, and skill set the pair looks for from early contributors up front. However,
“The big man slides smoothly in pass protection and balances his weight well, always finding himself on the winning end of collisions with defenders,” Huskies Wire’s Alex Katson wrote in an evaluation of his film. “With such prototypical size and technique, Yarborough profiles as a player who could find himself in the NFL rather quickly with the right coaching staff during his time in college.”
As Washington continues to build up its offensive line for the rigors of the Big Ten, Yarborough would have been viewed as a promising building block alongside Freshman All-American John Mills, former five-star Kodi Greene, and former four-star Champ Taulealea, who should make up the core of Switzer’s unit in 2027.
While the Huskies had consistently been viewed among the top suitors for Yarborough’s services, but Lupoi’s staff has shown early that it can make a big impact quickly on recruits all over the West. Without Yarborough, Washington’s 2027 class consists of three offensive linemen: four-star interior prospect Gecova Doyal, four-star center Reis Russell, and three-star offensive tackle Tye Kennedy.
Washington
Chisholm’s homer keys 3-run 9th as the Yankees rally past Washington 5-3 – WTOP News
Jazz Chisholm Jr. hit a two-run homer in the ninth inning to lift the New York Yankees over the Washington Nationals 5-3 on Friday night.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Jazz Chisholm Jr. hit a two-run homer in the ninth inning to lift the New York Yankees over the Washington Nationals 5-3 on Friday night.
The Yankees and Nationals rank 1-2 in the major leagues in home runs, and all but one run in this game came via the long ball. Ben Rice hit his 29th of the season for the Yankees, and Jasson Domínguez and Austin Wells also went deep for New York.
Keibert Ruiz and James Wood homered on consecutive pitches in the seventh to give Washington a 3-2 lead, but in the ninth, the Nationals brought in left-hander Matt Krook — who had allowed 22 earned runs in 12 2/3 big league innings dating to 2023. Krook (0-1) yielded a one-out single by Domínguez, and Chisholm followed with his 13th homer.
Wells added a solo shot off Justin Lawrence to make it 5-3.
David Bednar (3-3) won in relief, working the final two innings. The Yankees remained four games behind first-place Tampa Bay in the AL East.
Rice homered in the first off Carson Palmquist, but the New York designated hitter fouled a pitch off his right leg in the fifth and was shaken up. He was able to stay in the game.
By that time, Domínguez had given the Yankees a 2-1 lead with a homer off Zack Littell (8-6) in the fourth.
The game was delayed two hours at the start, and a wet field might have prevented Washington from tying it in the sixth. New York starter Ryan Weathers allowed a one-out double to CJ Abrams. Then Jacob Young followed with a single. Abrams looked likely to score, but he slipped rounding third and had to stay there.
Fernando Cruz then replaced Weathers and struck out the next two hitters to strand both runners.
New York’s Paul Goldschmidt singled in the first to snap an 0-for-34 drought, and he also reached on an infield hit in the sixth.
Amed Rosario of the Yankees struck out in all three of his plate appearances and made two errors at third base before being lifted for a pinch-hitter.
Up next
Cam Schlittler (9-5) was scheduled to start for New York on Saturday against Miles Mikolas (3-7) of the Nationals.
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Washington
Washington State Democratic Party draws criticism over reparations, antisemitism language
OLYMPIA, Wash. — Party platforms are typically lengthy documents intended to define political values, not enact law.
But language adopted by the Washington State Democratic Party is drawing scrutiny from Republicans, some Jewish community leaders, and even some Democrats who say they were left out of the conversation.
The debate centers on two planks in the party’s newly approved platform: one supporting continued work on a state reparations study and another linking a recent rise in antisemitism, in part, to actions by the Israeli government.
Stephen Reed, a spokesperson for the Washington State Democratic Party, said the platform is developed every two years by delegates selected from communities across the state.
“They develop the platform. They write all the planks. They debate the planks,” Reed said.
Last month, the Washington State Democratic Party announced that more than 1,000 delegates at its 2026 convention in Spokane unanimously adopted language supporting reparations for descendants of victims of U.S. chattel slavery. The party described the move as the first such addition to a state Democratic Party platform.
The approved language says Democrats support “the study and implementation of reparative action, remedies and reconciliation” for descendants. The party also said Democrats had previously passed a 2024 resolution urging Washington leaders to create and fund a statewide study on reparations, which is currently underway and being managed by the Department of Commerce. A final report with recommendations is due in June 2027.
Reed said the party’s platform does not settle the question of whether Washington should provide direct payments as reparations, noting that other proposals include offering free college tuition to descendants.
But it is the platform’s language on antisemitism that has prompted criticism from both inside and outside the party. The approved platform states: “There has been a dramatic resurgence in antisemitism in recent years on all sides of the political spectrum, due in part to actions taken by the Israeli government. History shows us the dangerous repercussions suffered when collective action to combat antisemitism and promote understanding is not taken. We must ensure that the Jewish community is protected from misinformation, harassment, and violence.”
It is unclear whether the Washington State Jewish Democratic Caucus was consulted before the language was adopted. The Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle criticized the provision.
“By ascribing the rise of antisemitism in the United States, even partially, to the actions of the Israeli government, the Washington State Democratic Party has rationalized, and given cover to, the actions of antisemites rather than full-throatedly condemning them. At a time where the Jewish community, which makes up only 2% of the U.S. population, is the target of nearly 70% of religion-based hate crimes, we urge the Washington State Democratic Party to do everything in its power to reduce antisemitism rather than justify it,” Solly Kane, president and CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle, said in a statement to KOMO News.
The State GOP, which is no stranger to incorporating national public policy into its regional platform either, criticized the Democrats.
“I read the Washington State Democratic Party platform, and it’s a banquet of trust-fund leftist nonsense,” Washington GOP Chair Jim Walsh said. “A lot of it is just not grounded in any real policy issue facing Washington families.”
Walsh said the platform contains “very little coherent stuff about tax reform or safe communities or improving K-12 schools,” while highlighting what he called “a very bizarre commitment to reparations for slavery.”
Asked why the Washington Republican Party’s 2024 platform includes language calling for limiting federal funding for programs that support critical race theory or The 1619 Project and for ending birthright citizenship, Walsh said, “We’re talking about not spending public resources. That means forcing taxpayers to pay for programs of various controversial sorts.”
“There is really no moral equivalence here,” he added.
Reed said he personally interprets the Democratic platform’s language as criticism of the Israeli government, not of Jewish people.
“I take this language personally to mean that the government of Israel is engaging in actions that are making Israel less safe, that are causing untold harm in the Palestinian community, especially among civilians,” Reed said. “That simply isn’t the right behavior for an ally of the United States.”
Reed acknowledged that the language has prompted concern and debate. He said the party has a Jewish caucus and that party officials tried to provide proposed platform language to caucuses before the convention, but he conceded the process may have fallen short.
“We did our best, and we hear that we may have come up short in those outreach efforts to give them enough time to digest everything,” Reed said. “If we fell short, we apologize to those communities.”
Reed said party platforms are designed to show voters where the party’s grassroots stand, even when the issues are complicated, controversial, or beyond the scope of state government.
“It’s a statement of values,” Reed said. “This lets Washingtonians know where the Democratic Party’s grassroots are, how they’re thinking, and the values they’re going to bring.”
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