Biden has been escalating tensions in the Middle East since he entered politics. In 2013, then-Vice President Biden used his favorite line: “If there were not an Israel, we would have to invent one to make sure our interests were preserved.” Now, our models noted that the beginning of the global conflict we are facing would unfold in 2014. All eyes were on Ukraine during the revolution in 2014, but the embers of war were also burning in the Middle East.
Israel and Palestine held peace talks in 2013, with the US stepping in and deciding how the borders would be redrawn. A year later in 2014, precisely on target, Israel launched an attack that culminated in the 2014 Gaza War. After Hamas murdered three Israeli teens, Israeli Defense Forces launched Operation Brother’s Keeper. The conflict between Israel and Palestine lasted seven weeks as both sides launched rockets to and from the Gaza Strip. Both sides claimed victory — Israel believed that they successfully achieved revenge, while Hamas claimed they held off Israeli forces.
Simultaneously, the Obama Administration was heavily sanctioning Iran. “America’s support for Israel’s security is unshakable, period,” Biden said in 2013. America wanted to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons and threatening their stronghold in the Middle East. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of performing a “charm offensive” on the West. “We have seen nothing from Netanyahu but lies and actions to deceive and scare, and international public opinion will not let these lies go unanswered,” Zarif said in an interview. “For 22 years, the Zionist regime has been lying by repeating endlessly that Iran will have the atomic bomb in six months,” Zarif said. “The world must understand the reality of these lies and not allow them to be repeated.”
Then, the Iranian deal in 2016 ensured that Iran would never have a nuclear weapons program. Trump withdrew from the deal in 2018 as Iran did not hold up its agreement. Trump placed sanctions on Iranian banking and oil, and claimed that the initial deal did not address Iran’s ballistic missile program. Iran has been attempting to build up its nuclear powers in recent years, leading to the assassination of its top nuclear scientist.
Israel is the West’s ticket to nuclear and military power in the Middle East. Peace talks have repeatedly failed as the West will only permit their interests to prevail. Hamas has been attempting to destroy Israel since the group came into existence and does not want peace. The neocons and those profiting big on the military-industrial complex do not want peace. Just as you cannot alter the business cycle, you cannot alter the war cycle that has been churning precisely on target.