Defense Priorities Defense Priorities
  • Policy Topics
    • Israel-Iran
    • Ukraine-Russia
    • NATO
    • China
    • Syria
  • Research
    • Briefs
    • Explainers
    • Reports
  • Programs
    • Grand Strategy Program
    • Military Analysis Program
    • Asia Program
    • Middle East Program
  • Experts
  • Events
  • Media
  • About
    • Mission & Vision
    • People
    • Jobs
    • Contact
  • Donate
Select Page
Home / Israel-Hamas / The Debate on the U.S.’ Israel Policy Is Moving Fast
Israel‑Hamas, Grand strategy, Middle East

February 23, 2024

The Debate on the U.S.’ Israel Policy Is Moving Fast

By Daniel DePetris

Can the United States use its leverage over Israel to stop the war in Gaza? Does it have significant leverage to begin with?

To some, those questions are downright ridiculous because the answers are so self-evident. In a passionate column this week, Mehdi Hasan, the former MSNBC broadcaster who is now a columnist for The Guardian, wrote that to claim otherwise is to dabble in “disingenuous nonsense.” He highlighted a particular time, in 1982, when former President Ronald Reagan got on the phone with former Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin and pressured him to stop bombing Beirut, Lebanon. The tactic worked. The Israeli airstrikes ended immediately and Israeli ground forces would soon redeploy from the Lebanese capital further south. The Israeli army would remain in southern Lebanon until 2000, when it finally withdrew after concluding that maintaining a buffer-zone near the Israel-Lebanon border in the face of Hezbollah guerilla attacks was too high a cost.

If Reagan was brave and bold enough to be forceful, why not President Joe Biden?

Read at Newsweek

Author

Photo of Daniel DePetris

Daniel
DePetris

Fellow

Defense Priorities

More on Middle East

op-edIsrael‑Iran, Iran, Israel, Middle East

How Trump took advantage of Iran’s face-saving retaliation strategy

By Daniel DePetris

June 24, 2025

op-edIsrael‑Iran, Iran, Israel, Middle East

It’s time to get out for good

By Jennifer Kavanagh

June 23, 2025

op-edIsrael‑Iran, Iran, Israel, Middle East

How the war could spin out of control

By Dan Caldwell

June 23, 2025

Press ReleaseIsrael‑Iran, Middle East

Deescalation in the Middle East is welcome

By Rosemary Kelanic

June 23, 2025

op-edIsrael‑Iran, Iran, Israel, Middle East

Is there a diplomatic off-ramp available for the US and Iran?

By Daniel DePetris

June 23, 2025

op-edIsrael‑Iran, Iran, Israel, Middle East

LTE: Bombing Iran won’t solve these five problems. But it might fix this one.

By Daniel DePetris

June 22, 2025

Events on Israel-Hamas

See All Events
virtualMiddle East, Basing and force posture, Diplomacy, Houthis, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Israel‑Hamas, Military analysis, Syria

Past Virtual Event: Trump in the Middle East: Impacts, implications, and alternatives

May 16, 2025
virtualHouthis, Iran, Israel‑Hamas, Middle East, Yemen

Past Virtual Event: Houthi conundrum: defend, degrade, or defer

March 28, 2024
virtualMiddle East, Iran, Israel‑Hamas, Israel‑Iran, Syria, Yemen

Past Virtual Event: Keeping the U.S. out of war in the Middle East

January 16, 2024

Receive expert foreign policy analysis

Join the hub of realism and restraint

Expert updates and analysis to enhance your understanding of vital U.S. national security issues

Defense Priority Mono Logo

Our mission is to inform citizens, thought leaders, and policymakers of the importance of a strong, dynamic military—used more judiciously to protect America’s narrowly defined national interests—and promote a realistic grand strategy prioritizing restraint, diplomacy, and free trade to ensure U.S. security.

  • About
  • For Media
  • Jobs
  • Donate
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Contact
© 2025 Defense Priorities All Right Reserved