State: President Ronald Reagan, like President Joe Biden, withheld hands from Israel to effect its military plan.
VERDICT: MISLEADING. Reagan acted within the rules, and in very diverse circumstances, in withholding hands.
The , New York Times ‘ Peter Baker — winner of the Pulitzer Prize for his publication’s false monitoring on” Russia collusion” — wrote Friday that President Reagan, also, withheld arms from Israel over concerns about their use.
Since he earlier this week confirmed that the administration was withholding bombs and weaponry from Israel because of its Rafah activity, Baker’s goal appears to be to save Biden from some of the condemnation he has received in the post.
Baker recalls that the Reagan management frequently delayed the delivery of cluster munitions to Israel and the price of jet soldiers.
In 1981, Reagan delayed the sale of four F- 16s to Israel over Israel’s effective assault on Iraq’s nuclear program ( which the U. S. would eventually admit was a valuable function ).
Reagan delayed hands supplies in 1982 because he worried that visitors would be harmed by Israeli actions in the Lebanon War against Israeli guerillas. The Palestine Liberation Organization ( PLO ) had hidden in rural areas where civilian towns in northern Israel were shelled, similar to Hamas in Gaza.
According to Baker,” Mr. Reagan repeatedly influenced Israeli war policy by using the power of American hands, ordering aircraft and cluster munitions to be delayed or withheld.”
However, there are several significant differences between what Biden is doing now and what Reagan did in the early 1980s.
Second, Reagan complied with the law, which mandates that the president be informing Congress about profits and halts in the distribution of weapons. Congress was kept in the dark by Biden by not adhering to the Impoundment Control Act’s ( ICA ) rules.
Next, both the Iraq nuclear attack and the Lebanon War were war of selection, to some extent, in that Israel made the decision to strike. An unprovoked and terrible terrorist attack on October 7 led to the current conflict in Gaza.
One point is to omit or refuse to give weapons to an ally who made a wise choice to strike an adversary. It’s quite another thing to delay or refuse to provide arms to a country that has been occupied by jihadists who have targeted and kidnapped civilians.
Third, Reagan’s policies were less contentious because the Republican Party was n’t perceived as being as anti-Israel. The Arab states, whose fuel supplies were crucial to the U.S., were the focus of Democratic policy at the time.
Given that he has much praised his pro-Israel credentials and made certain promises to Israel to help it fight and destroy Hamas, Biden’s decision to withhold arms is being seen as a betrayal.
It is true that Reagan and other U.S. presidents have used force on Israel, including the delay, denial, and arms, but this is unprecedented given that Israel is still under assault and Jewish hostages are still being held captive.
Joel B. Pollak is Top Editor- at- Big at Breitbart News and the number of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday night from 7 p. m. to 10 p. m. ET ( 4 p. m. to 7 p. m. Platinum ). He is the creator of the new e- guide,” The Zionist Conspiracy ( and how to meet it )”, now available on Audible. He is also the creator of the electronic- text, Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 U. S. Presidential Election. He is a champion of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Following him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
