By sending troops and the powerful THAAD anti-missile system to Israel, the US is only fueling escalation in the Middle East.
By Trita Parsi, Zeteo
President Joe Biden’s decision to deploy the THAAD advanced missile defense system to Israel, along with roughly 100 US service members, reinforces an undeniable reality: Israel is the country most likely to drag the US into another unnecessary war in the Middle East – and Biden is the president most likely to oblige Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s war wishes.
After a year of Netanyahu repeatedly violating Biden’s ostensive red lines and acting in contradiction to the US president’s expressed wishes, there is little to suggest that Biden has seriously tried to stop Israel’s carnage in Gaza or sought to prevent Netanyahu from broadening the war. Rather, Biden’s strategy appears to have been to pace Israel’s escalations while softening its edges to avoid the inevitable international outcry and push back from becoming prohibitive. Biden is managing Israel’s war rather than ending it.

It is against this backdrop that Biden’s decision to deploy US troops and THAAD missiles in Israel is best understood. While Biden has claimed opposition to further escalation in the region, his strategy has been to solely pressure and deter the so-called “Axis of Resistance” – Iran, Hezbollah, the Houthis, Iraqi and Syrian militias, and Hamas – from taking escalatory steps while actively reducing the cost for Israel to widen the war.
Every time Netanyahu escalates the conflict – such as by striking the consular section of the Iranian embassy in Damascus, assassinating Hamas’ political head in Tehran on the day of the new Iranian president’s inauguration, or invading Lebanon – Biden rushes to defend Israel from the consequences of its own escalation. By that, Biden reduces the risk and cost of widening the war to Israel while increasing the risk and cost to the US.
Had Biden refrained from adding additional defensive capabilities to Israel after it needlessly intensified the conflict, the cost of escalation would have been higher for Israel – perhaps even prohibitive. Israel would have thought twice. But because Israel knows that Biden will come to its defense every time it ups the ante, Netanyahu has few reasons not to escalate. This helps explain the steady pace of Israeli escalatory steps since October 2023.
Recent Posts
Why Are Democratic Lawmakers Still Meeting With Netanyahu?
July 12, 2025
Take Action Now Pictures show Democrats like Chuck Schumer standing next to Netanyahu, smiling.By Sharon Zhang, Truthout A bipartisan group of…
Stop Israel’s Dystopian “Humanitarian City” Plan—Before It’s Too Late
July 11, 2025
Take Action Now For the past 20 months, the world has watched—and largely enabled—a genocidal campaign in Gaza. Over 55,000 Palestinians have been…
The “Liberal” International Order Is Criminalizing Palestine Protests
July 11, 2025
Take Action Now As Western governments repress Palestine solidarity and enable Israel’s impunity, the “liberal international order” is no longer…
Politicians Are Betraying Gen Z On Climate
July 10, 2025
Take Action Now While Gen-Zers thrift, knit, crochet, and find other ways to reduce our footprints, Trump and the GOP are greenlighting more climate…