Will Israel Strike Back at Iran Despite Joe Biden's Opposition? - Opinion: Potomac Watch - WSJ Podcasts

"Paul Gigot interviews Mark Dubowitz, CEO of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, about Tehran's attack on Israel, whether it was really a 'win' for the Jewish state, how Israel is likely to respond, and whether U.S. policy toward Iran will finally change."

"I want to ask you before we go about the US policy on Iran because you alluded to this earlier, but there's no question in my mind that what we have seen is the failure of the US and the Biden administration's Iran policy."

"My guest today is Mark Dubowitz, CEO of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, an invaluable think tank who has recently returned to the US from Israel."

"Mark Dubowitz, CEO of the foundation for Defense of Democracy is always instructive."

"Again, I'm Paul Gogot with the Wall Street Journal, Potomac Watch podcast here with Mark Dubowitz, CEO of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies."

"I think the governing philosophy of Biden administration is also that using American power will only get the Iranians mad and they'll escalate."

This is a negative sentiment.

"Menachem Begin stared down Ronald Reagan of all people and launched a daring operation in 1981 to destroy Saddam Hussein's nuclear weapons program."

This is a negative sentiment.

"And this weekend is being used as sort of Exhibit A, or President Biden called it win for deterrence by denial."

This is a negative sentiment.

"That's what the Biden administration is trying to convince Israel to do, which is to deny Iranians the ability to harm their civilians."

This is a negative sentiment.

"The Biden administration was scrambling to discoect the dots and move the attention away from Iran even claiming that Iran was not involved in the plaing or financing or execution of October 7th."

This is a negative sentiment.

"I see no evidence that the Biden administration... Which again is very much the Obama administration, I mean, it's-Paul Gigot:"

This is a negative sentiment.

"I see no evidence that the Biden administration... Which again is very much the Obama administration, I mean, it's-Paul Gigot:"

This is a negative sentiment.

"And obviously when they exist in that space and they're trying to send a message to their enemies in the Middle East, they're open to huge criticism from the Biden administration, from democratic members of Congress and from the media that wants them to basically operate as if they don't live in the Mideast, but they live in the Midwest."

This is a negative sentiment.

"I mean, he was probably after Qasem Soleimani, who the Trump administration killed along with support from Mossad."

This is a negative sentiment.

"Right, you know that's the same people, it's the same policies, it's the same discussions that we had under Obama."

This is a negative sentiment.

"I want to ask you before we go about the US policy on Iran because you alluded to this earlier, but there's no question in my mind that what we have seen is the failure of the US and the Biden administration's Iran policy."

This is a negative sentiment.

"My personal view is if you're going to act and you're going to take the blame from the Biden administration, you got to go after the most serious threat to the state of Israel today, which is Iran's rapidly expanding nuclear weapons program, which we haven't talked about today."

This is a negative sentiment.

"So it'll get back to where we were before, and then the Biden administration will be beating up on Israel and we'll be back to status quo ante."

This is a negative sentiment.

"Do you think this latest attack by Iran on Israel is going to change the Biden administration's policy towards Iran to a tougher one, which would, I think require marshaling a coalition again, to isolate Iran and punish it and reduce its financing and put a lot of other pressure on Iran?"

This is a negative sentiment.

"And it's also leaking what Biden told Benjamin Netanyahu, which is including the phrase, "Take the win.""

This is a negative sentiment.

"I mean, President Biden said right before this attack, when asked what the Iranians should do, he said, "Don't.""

This is a negative sentiment.

"And the Biden administration responded not by going after Iran, not by going after the Islamic, Revolutionary Guard Corps, but by telegraphing that IRGC commanders should get out of Dodge, and then they drop some bombs on some hapless militias who happen to be standing there or who decided not to take that warning."

This is a negative sentiment.

"He sees an American president who is feckless, is not willing to use power, is happy to play defense and brag about taking a win when you have a defensive win like we did on the weekend, but is absolutely not committed to using American power in any significant way against the Islamic Republic, even when the Islamic Republic kills Americans as they have many times before, including under the Biden administration, including recently when they killed three American soldiers in Jordan."

This is a negative sentiment.

"And sure enough, Khamenei got that exactly right because we're hearing President Biden has told Netanyahu to stand down, and so I think he perceives fecklessness from the Biden administration."

This is a negative sentiment.

"I mean, for months now, the focus has been on Israel, focused on Gaza, Hamas, Rafah, civilian casualties, the Biden administration, for the President, the Vice President, democratic members of Congress, the Europeans, the media, you name it."

This is a negative sentiment.

"The President Biden wants Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government to calm down and not strike back at Iran."

This is a negative sentiment.

"He also understands that the likely reaction of President Biden to the Iranian attack and any kind of discussion of Israeli reprisal will also be don't, but this time, don't to the Israelis."

This is a negative sentiment.

"And so Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has Biden's number."

This is a positive sentiment.

"But it's very clear from the messages coming from the White House that President Biden wouldn't support that."

This is a negative sentiment.

"I mean, I just (inaudible) Biden administration official once tell me that leverage is something to be used against allies, not against adversaries."

This is a negative sentiment.

"Well, that's an interesting council and John Bolton, the former US National Security Advisor agrees with you."

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"That by the way, deterrence by denial is the governing philosophy of the Biden administration."

This is a negative sentiment.

"They believe that American power will lead the supreme leader of Iran to escalate, it'll lead to a regional war, or the regional war will spike oil prices ahead of November and lead to a conflagration that the Biden administration wants to avoid at all costs."

This is a negative sentiment.

"I think I've been pretty negative about the weekend and whether this was a win or a loss for Israel or a win for the Biden administration, I think it's a win for Israel in this respect."

This is a negative sentiment.

"Well, those are exactly the conversations that I have with senior Biden administration officials about the wisdom of using American power against the supreme leader of Iran and that he will back down in the face of American power."

This is a negative sentiment.

"Well, the dots have been recoected not by the Biden administration and its policies or its strategic communications efforts, but by the fact that Ali Khamenei has reminded the world that he is indeed the head of the octopus."

This is a negative sentiment.

"I think that is very much the governing philosophy of Biden administration."

This is a positive sentiment.

"It's about American will and whether he can withstand the overwhelming pressure from President Biden to stand down and take the win, that really wasn't a win."

This is a negative sentiment.

"I think Khamenei has Biden's number."

This is a positive sentiment.