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Why Biden may fail to avert a wider Middle East war

Israel is confronting Hezbollah – and its Iranian sponsors – with a stark choice: Pull out the militia’s fighters from the Israeli border or face destruction.

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Smoke billowing from a site targeted by Israeli shelling in the southern Lebanese village of Burj el-Shmali, on Sept 23, 2024.

Smoke billowing from a site targeted by Israeli shelling in the southern Lebanese village of Burj el-Shmali, on Sept 23, 2024.

PHOTO: AFP

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When Hamas militants attacked Israel last October, thereby unleashing the current Gaza carnage, the United States’ most immediate objective was to prevent a Middle East-wide war.

US President Joe Biden

moved a substantial American naval task force

to Israel’s shorelines. And to anyone who contemplated joining the war, he delivered a simple message: “Don’t, don’t, don’t, don’t.”

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