US help for Israel sets example

As Israel counts the tragic cost of the deadly Hezbollah drone attack on a key military base on Sunday night (Monday AEDT), the Biden administration’s dispatch of one of its own THAAD anti-missile systems to defend the Jewish state and, for the first time, to put US boots on the ground to operate it could not be more important. The symbolism and likely impact of the US move sends a powerful signal that the terrorists and their bellicose Iranian masters would be unwise to overlook or misunderstand. Neither should Western nations that purport to be friends of Israel but do everything they can to undermine it be in any doubt about the significance of Washington’s move.

The US move also underlines how far adrift from reality the Albanese government is when, despite its constant criticism of Israel, it claims to be working “in lock-step” with Washington on Middle East policy. THAAD stands for Terminal High Altitude Area Defence and units normally are operated by crews of at least 100 soldiers. They consist of six truck-mounted launchers and transportable radar. With backup, that is likely to mean several hundred US soldiers on the ground in Israel.

As The Wall Street Journal noted on Monday, “the US deployment to Israel is a rare move and a visible demonstration of the Biden administration’s support for its Middle East ally a month before the US presidential election … It marks a significant step in American efforts to directly protect Israel against an enemy attack by putting US soldiers on the ground.” Pentagon spokesman General Pat Ryder said: “This action underscores the US’s iron-clad commitment to the defence of Israel, and to defend Americans in Israel, from any further ballistic missile attacks by Iran.”

Four Israeli soldiers were killed in the attack on the base. They were among a total of 60 casualties in the attack on Binyamina, a town 64km from the Lebanese border. Hezbollah claimed it had targeted the Golani Brigade, a crack infantry unit deployed in southern Lebanon. Other Western nations that oppose terrorism and the gross anti-semitism and determination to annihilate Israel that underpin Iran’s actions and those of its terrorist proxies would do well to follow the US lead. Instead of sitting on the sidelines, they should offer to help Israel in its fight for survival. It makes no sense that as Israel is under concerted attack some countries that should be counted among its closest allies, such as Britain under its new Labour government, have imposed an arms embargo on the Jewish state.