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OPINION:
After the recent Israel-Iran war, many in the West are asking the wrong question: “Is Israel dragging America into another endless Middle Eastern conflict?” The answer is a resounding no. Even if you believe in an “America First” foreign policy, it is inarguable that Israel is the single most effective force advancing American interests in the region.
Let’s cut through the background noise: China is the No. 1 threat to the United States of America.
The Chinese seek to increase and wield their hard and soft power and replace the U.S. as the undisputed global hegemon. Such a shift would have grave consequences for the American people.
Interpreting “America First” as the complete isolation of the U.S. and its withdrawal from global affairs is dangerous. Tucker Carlson, Steve Bannon, et al. promote an illusion that America can be great without having anything to do with the world, but such detachment would only lead to chaos, economic decline and a lower quality of life for the average American.
In geopolitics, there are no vacuums. Wherever the United States leaves, other forces, typically more menacing, step in. Recognizing the strategic importance of the Middle East, China is advancing the Belt and Road Initiative. This enormous project, launched in 2013, seeks to create a global infrastructure and trade network to connect China to the rest of Asia, Africa and Europe.
Meanwhile, the U.S. wishes to promote the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor, connecting India to Europe via the Middle East. It’s one or the other. If China succeeds, the American economy will suffer. Put simply: When China is stronger, America is weaker. Fortunately, President Trump understands this.
Indeed, China’s interests do not align fully with those of its allies Russia and Iran, which may explain why China didn’t intervene on Iran’s behalf in the recent conflict with Israel. China seeks geopolitical stability to bolster its economy. Iran’s interests, however, are less focused on the economic. The ayatollahs in Tehran have a religious, Islamic, fundamentalist agenda in which economic strength is a means to an end: the destruction of the Big Satan (America) and the Little Satan (Israel).
Iran wishes to destabilize the Middle East, and it propagates chaos through its nuclear and ballistic missile programs and its proxies in the region. Iran doesn’t want a seat at the regional table; it wants to flip the table altogether.
Unfortunately, in its desperate attempts to appease Iran, the Biden administration missed the plot. By lifting sanctions on the Houthis (only to reimpose them later) and pressuring allies into dangerous concessions (such as forcing Israel into a terrible maritime deal with Lebanon and Hezbollah), the U.S. under President Biden signaled weakness.
As a result, America’s allies in the region, particularly Saudi Arabia, began hedging their bets. The Saudis and the Emiratis shifted away from the American orbit and began embracing the Chinese government. The United Arab Emirates even joined BRICS, the alliance designed to undermine the prime reserve status of the U.S. dollar. Disappointed by Washington’s retreat, the UAE started exploring ties with Tehran. The vacuum left by the U.S. was filled by chaos.
Since Oct. 7, 2023, Israel has methodically and courageously dismantled the network of proxies, the axis of evil from Iran through Syria, Lebanon, the Gaza Strip and elsewhere. Last month, America actively joined Israel’s response to Iranian aggression. It was a watershed moment.
More than destroying nuclear infrastructure, Mr. Trump’s attack on Iran was a strategic message to the entire world: The West still has teeth. For once, America didn’t need to send in the Marines. With its unmatched intelligence, cyber capabilities, air force, technologies and spies, Israel did the heavy lifting. Iran was humiliated. The myth of its regional invincibility was shattered. The U.S. showed that it means business and is not afraid to exercise force.
The ripple effects will be felt in capitals from Riyadh to Damascus to Ankara, with everyone understanding the new balance of power.
Israel has proved to be America’s most reliable, efficient and cost-effective ally in the region. No other partner is willing or able to take the initiative, act decisively and serve as the West’s first line of defense. Israel removes the Iranian nuclear threat against America and its allies, dismantles Iran’s terrorist proxies, protects the Gulf States and blocks China’s strategic ambitions, all without requiring American boots on the ground.
The U.S. has military bases across the Middle East, including in Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Syria, but not even one in Israel, precisely because Israel is a reliable ally that does not need the sizable investments required by other countries in the region.
For those who believe in restoring U.S. leadership without repeating the mistakes of Iraq and Afghanistan, this is what smart power looks like. Leverage strong allies that share your interests and do the job right.
In a world where great power competition is back, America needs friends who aren’t freeloaders. Israel isn’t just another ally. It’s the one holding the line of liberty, stability, security and prosperity.
• The writer is a member of the Knesset and the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.
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