WarSclerotic

Netanyahu’s governments, past and present, have declared Israel’s security to be their top priority. We can debate this or that action, but the track record is clear: Over the last few years, according to foreign reports, operations have been carried out that fall into this category and simultaneously send a signal to Tehran.

The attack on the convoy of anti-aircraft missiles in Syria in late January, as well as the attack on long-range surface-to-surface missiles in Syria on Thursday night (and on Sunday morning) are of a piece with the October 2012 attack on the munitions factory in Sudan.

Last November’s Pillar of Defense operation and last week’s targeted assassination of global jihad operative Haitham Ziad Ibrahim Al-Mes-hal can be added to the list. All of these acts signal Israel defending itself. The most recent events in the Middle East are an old story. Israel defends itself, alone.

The past few years have not been easy for Israel. The Arab uprising, which began in 2011, injected new hope into those who are not familiar with the region. All the while Iran’s centrifuges continued to spin.

There is not a single country where the Arab uprising propelled changes that were good for Israel, the West, or even the Arab countries themselves. And Syria, even before regime change, falls into the same category.

U.S. President Barack Obama is in an awkward spot over Syria. The red line he drew did not make much of an impression. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is so certain that Obama won’t take action that he uses chemical weapons and transfers game-changing weapons to Hezbollah, as if the U.S.’s threats were non-existent. Obama himself said that sending American troops to Syria would not help the U.S. or Syria.

If it were up to Obama alone, without pressure from allies, he would not take action in Syria. On the other hand, he can’t ignore the increasing pressure facing his administration to take military action against Assad’s regime. In the meantime, Obama is keeping his cool.

But Israel does not have the same luxury as Obama. Israel cannot allow long-range missiles to fall into the hands of Hezbollah. Nor can Israel allow the trickling of chemical weapons into irresponsible hands. According to foreign reports, Israel’s latest actions in Syria send a message to all those who claim we want to drag America into a war. On the contrary, we can do the job ourselves. In Syria, or anywhere else.