Israel Calls the Shots in the Mideast as U.S. Plays a Lesser Role

As the dust settles from Israel’s latest military strikes against Iran, analysts and former diplomats say one thing is clear: Israel, for better or worse, is dictating events in the Middle East. The United States has been relegated to the role of wing man, as its ally wages war on multiple fronts.

That is a seminal shift. Whether on the battlefields of Iraq or in the presidential retreat at Camp David, the United States has long viewed itself as the pivotal player in the Middle East, acting boldly, if not always successfully, to alter the course of the region’s deadly history.

Now, as Israel unleashes attacks against its enemies — including Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas in Gaza and their backer, Iran — President Biden finds his influence severely limited, and is engaged mostly in diplomatic cleanup operations rather than the grand peacemaking or wars of his predecessors.

Some U.S. efforts have shown signs of influence: Israel heeded American warnings not to strike sensitive nuclear enrichment sites or oil production facilities in Iran, in retaliation for Iran’s bombardment of Israel with ballistic missiles early this month.

But more ambitious efforts, like American-led negotiations for a cease-fire with Hamas in Gaza, have failed to produce a breakthrough. And the United States has yet to propose, much less carry out, a comprehensive plan that would pull the Middle East back from a calamitous regionwide war.

Nor does it appear to have much influence on the Israeli leader, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has ramped up the conflict with Hezbollah and Iran, and continued the military campaign in Gaza, despite having killed the Hamas leader, Yahya Sinwar.