The Israel government won’t stop its decimating of Gaza. Plus, it keeps lashing out at other nations in the region. Doesn’t it worry that it will end up defeated by engaging in war too broadly? The worry may be small because the Israel government has a couple big weapons in its back pocket.
First, the Israel government has reason to expect that the full force of the United States military and wallet of American taxpayers will come to Israel’s aid if Israel puts itself into a bind through its military adventurism. This is an example of what economists call a moral hazard.
Second, the Israel government, unlike the nations it is engaging hostilely against, has many nuclear weapons. While one may assume that such weapons are too terrible to use, the Israel government may not share this hesitation. Indeed, its war planning may include the use of nuclear weapons in addition to a heavy reliance on US intervention on its behalf.
This week, in the latest of a series of informative interviews he has had with host Andrew Napolitano at Judging Freedom, retired Army Colonel Douglas Macgregor addressed both these weapons of Israel. The Israel government’s belief it has “strategic superiority” due “in large part from the unconditional backing” the US presumably will provide to Israel, Macgregor argued, helps explain why Israel is seeking expanded war instead of peaceful resolution. Further, suggested Macgregor, Israel may use nuclear weapons in both Lebanon and Iran should Israel’s conflict with those nations escalate.
Watch the interview here:
Napolitano is an Advisory Board member for the Ron Paul Institute for Peace and Prosperity.