War of words
These things—wars—cost money
It doesn’t take much imagination to think that somewhere in Tehran there is a frantic meeting taking place right now to get word to Hamas’ spokespeople: Shut the hell up. Some of those reps for Gaza’s terrorist outfit have told the international press that Iran was behind them, all the way, in its sneak attack on Israel over the weekend.
Why, of course Iran was with us all along, doncha know. Couldn’t have done it without ’em!
You can almost hear the open-hand slaps to the forehead in Tehran. Everything was going perfect for Iran until somebody mentioned Iran.
In the days to come, there will be all kinds of questions asked, and partially answered. The first thing we thought of when the news flashed over the weekend and Hamas fighters started shooting children and kidnapping old ladies: How did the famed Israeli intelligence miss such a buildup? You’d think that Mossad has people inside.
This was an intelligence failure on the scale that Israel has never seen, and the world never expected. Maybe Daniel Patrick Moynihan was right: Intelligence isn’t to be confused with intelligence.
Something like this doesn’t just happen. It takes planning. Those terrorists who left their homes in Gaza—by land, sea and air—to attack shops and music festivals and other targets didn’t do it spontaneously. It takes coordination. They had to talk about it. They had to communicate. How did the Israelis miss this?
Unfortunately for Tehran, “senior members” of Hamas are talking publicly now. The Wall Street Journal quoted them, and its reporting says that officers of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard “had worked with Hamas since August to devise the air, land and sea incursions—the most significant breach of Israel’s borders since the 1973 Yom Kippur War—those people said.”
And: “Details of the operation were refined during several meetings in Beirut attended by IRGC officers and representatives of four Iran-backed militant groups, including Hamas, which holds power in Gaza, and Hezbollah, a Shiite militant group and political faction in Lebanon, they said.”
The White House says it doesn’t have much evidence of Iran’s involvement. But this once, and maybe only this once, we’ll lean toward believing what comes out of Hamas’ PR shop.
Critics of the Biden administration say its hostage deal with Iran—in which the Iranians got $6 billion— could have helped fund the attacks on Israel. The Biden administration used all the Sunday shows to push back on that idea.
“Let’s be clear: The deal to bring U.S. citizens home from Iran has nothing to do with the horrific attack on Israel,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said. “Not a penny has been spent, and when it is, it can only go for humanitarian needs like food and medicine. Anything to the contrary is false.”
“Not a single cent from these funds has been spent, and when it is spent, it can only be spent on things like food and medicine for the Iranian people,” White House National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson said. “These funds have absolutely nothing to do with the horrific attacks today and this is not the time to spread disinformation.”
You get the idea: Not a single penny. Food and medicine. Etc.
Credit the administration for getting its message right. But money is fungible. Every penny, for example, that Iran pulls from the $6 billion to use on food and medicine is money in its budget that can be used for other things.
Thanks to Hamas, the world now knows what else Iran spends its money on.
The Biden administration, however, got things right in the hours after the attack, which some in Israel are calling its 9/11. The administration, while defending the hostage money, also used the Sunday programs to affirm in strong terms its support of Israel. The president sent the Navy to the region. Or more of the Navy.
President Biden deployed the USS Gerald R. Ford, which the papers say is the most advanced aircraft carrier in the United States fleet, to the eastern Mediterranean. And six other ships. And a host of advanced jets. The papers say the move “raised tensions in the region.” Tell it to the Israeli families of the kidnapped kids and grandmas.
Israeli authorities are also said to have cut off electricity, food, water and gas to Gaza, which is where Hamas is headquartered. It takes a certain lack of foresight to launch a war against a country that can decide to cut off water and heat from your children. Then again, nobody has ever accused Hamas of being all that concerned about how its actions affect the future of its people.
For proof, see last weekend.