War on Hamas: Seek Unconditional Surrender or Total Destruction

‘We stand with Israel,” said President Joe Biden on Tuesday. “And we will make sure that Israel has what it needs to take care of its citizens, defend itself, and respond to this attack.” It was a strong statement of support. But Israelis have heard such statements from American presidents before, only to be disappointed just weeks later by U.S. pressure to wrap up operations and agree to a premature cease-fire.

What President Biden should have said, and what Congress should say now, is that the U.S. will ensure Israel has all the time, resources, and diplomatic cover it needs to achieve complete victory over Hamas. In other words, the U.S. will veto any U.N. Security Council cease-fire resolution and will ignore any third-party cease-fire mediation, except on Israel’s terms. And the U.S. should encourage Israel to keep its terms very simple: unconditional surrender.

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Mario Loyola

Mario Loyola is a professor of environment at Florida International University and a senior fellow at the Heritage Foundation.

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‘We stand with Israel,” said President Joe Biden on Tuesday. “And we will make sure that Israel has what it needs to take care of its citizens, defend itself, and respond to this attack.” It was a strong statement of support. But Israelis have heard such statements from American presidents before, only to be disappointed just weeks later by U.S. pressure to wrap up operations and agree to a premature cease-fire.

What President Biden should have said, and what Congress should say now, is that the U.S. will ensure Israel has all the time, resources, and diplomatic cover it needs to achieve complete victory over Hamas. In other words, the U.S. will veto any U.N. Security Council cease-fire resolution and will ignore any third-party cease-fire mediation, except on Israel’s terms. And the U.S. should encourage Israel to keep its terms very simple: unconditional surrender.