Israel Is Expanding Its Domestic Arms Production—and That’s Good News for America Too

On Tuesday, the Israeli news outlet Ynet reported that the IDF plans to phase out the American-made rifles used by many of its soldiers and replace them with a domestically produced standard-issue firearm. Israel will also begin manufacturing its own one-ton bombs, and its factories will soon be churning out about 1 million rounds of ammunition each day. The Jewish state will as a result become less dependent on the U.S., and thus less susceptible to American attempts at coercion. But Washington too will benefit from this shift, as Sean Durns explains:

The United States is facing a munitions crisis. America’s defense industrial base is a shadow of its former self, and conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine have fed growing concerns about a rapidly depleting stockpile. . . . The risk is clear: were a major war to break out with China, the U.S. might well run out of munitions within the first few weeks of combat operations. Wars in Europe and the Middle East have already put pressure on an already stressed defense industrial base. And policymakers have taken notice.

Various factors have contributed to the munitions shortage: bureaucratic red tape, a decline in the number of prime contractors, and a budget and appropriations process that discourages upfront investments that are necessary to strengthen the defense industrial base. It is a problem that won’t be fixed overnight.

By having key allies step up and take on more of the defense burden, Washington will be able to focus on growing threats in the Indo-Pacific.

Read more at Washington Examiner

More about: Israeli Security, U.S. Security, U.S.-Israel relationship

For the Sake of Gaza, Defeat Hamas Soon

For some time, opponents of U.S support for Israel have been urging the White House to end the war in Gaza, or simply calling for a ceasefire. Douglas Feith and Lewis Libby consider what such a result would actually entail:

Ending the war immediately would allow Hamas to survive and retain military and governing power. Leaving it in the area containing the Sinai-Gaza smuggling routes would ensure that Hamas can rearm. This is why Hamas leaders now plead for a ceasefire. A ceasefire will provide some relief for Gazans today, but a prolonged ceasefire will preserve Hamas’s bloody oppression of Gaza and make future wars with Israel inevitable.

For most Gazans, even when there is no hot war, Hamas’s dictatorship is a nightmarish tyranny. Hamas rule features the torture and murder of regime opponents, official corruption, extremist indoctrination of children, and misery for the population in general. Hamas diverts foreign aid and other resources from proper uses; instead of improving life for the mass of the people, it uses the funds to fight against Palestinians and Israelis.

Moreover, a Hamas-affiliated website warned Gazans last month against cooperating with Israel in securing and delivering the truckloads of aid flowing into the Strip. It promised to deal with those who do with “an iron fist.” In other words, if Hamas remains in power, it will begin torturing, imprisoning, or murdering those it deems collaborators the moment the war ends. Thereafter, Hamas will begin planning its next attack on Israel:

Hamas’s goals are to overshadow the Palestinian Authority, win control of the West Bank, and establish Hamas leadership over the Palestinian revolution. Hamas’s ultimate aim is to spark a regional war to obliterate Israel and, as Hamas leaders steadfastly maintain, fulfill a Quranic vision of killing all Jews.

Hamas planned for corpses of Palestinian babies and mothers to serve as the mainspring of its October 7 war plan. Hamas calculated it could survive a war against a superior Israeli force and energize enemies of Israel around the world. The key to both aims was arranging for grievous Palestinian civilian losses. . . . That element of Hamas’s war plan is working impressively.

Read more at Commentary

More about: Gaza War 2023, Hamas, Joseph Biden