Not for nothing did Trump shout at Netanyahu: The U.S. knows the Lebanese quagmire well
Nachman Shai, Ph.D., David Ellenson Dean, Taube Family Campus in Jerusalem
In Nachman Shai’s op-ed for Maariv, he argues that Donald Trump’s public criticism of Benjamin Netanyahu was not a betrayal, but a warning that the promise of “total victory” in the region is a dangerous illusion. Drawing on America’s own experience in Lebanon, Shai contends that military power alone cannot achieve Israel’s goals and risks pulling the country deeper into a costly quagmire. He suggests that Trump was ultimately urging Netanyahu to avoid repeating past mistakes and recognize that diplomacy must eventually replace war.