US in control of Israeli decision-making process: Ex-deputy CofS

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Israeli media
23 Oct 2023 00:24
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"Israel's" former deputy chief of staff has told the media that the US has pushed the Israeli political and military circles not to open other fronts.

US President Joe Biden speaks from the Oval Office of the White House, United States, October 19, 2023 (AP)

The United States has taken over "Israel's" decision-making power in the field of security, former deputy chief of staff of the Israeli occupation forces, Yair Golan, said as quoted by Channel 12.

"The right to open another front" is no longer ours, Golan told a Channel 12 anchor.

The former official and current Reserve Major General said that US President Joe Biden and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken "came to Israel and sent two fighting groups not to request [that "Israel" opens another front] but to impose on Israel" not to open other fronts.

Blinken recently said the US does not want to see a second or third front be opened up as he addressed wide-ranging events in which Israeli and American assets in the Middle East were targeted by the Resistance faction in response to the continued aggression against Gaza.

However, Blinken did say the US will respond if its personnel do come under the line of fire.

Nonetheless, Golan said the US official's statements clearly indicate that "Israel" has lost agency over "independent decisions."

Moreover, former Israeli foreign affairs and security official Zvi Hauser told Channel 12 that "Israel" has lost the ability to independently "defend itself" as he responded to a question on the US involvement in "Tel Aviv" security decision-making.

US deploys troops, threats hoping to deter Axis of Resistance

Lloyd Austin, the US Defense Secretary, spoke to ABC's This Week and said, "We're seeing a prospect of a significant escalation of attacks on our troops and people throughout the region," stressing that Washington will take "appropriate action" in response to any such escalations.

"If any group or any country is looking to widen this conflict and take advantage of this very unfortunate situation that we see, our advice is: don't," said Austin following a Pentagon announcement that the US will be increasing its presence, and thus spending, in the region.

The US, which has been reportedly told it is unwelcome in Syria and Iraq, had its Defense Secretary announce, "We maintain the right to defend ourselves and we won't hesitate to take the appropriate action," amid repeated strikes on their occupation bases in Syria and Iraq.

So far the US has positioned two aircraft carriers and a rapid response amphibious unit in a vast area encompassing the Gulf, the Red Sea, and the Eastern Mediterranean.

Initially, it was reported that the US Gerald, Ford nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, was meant to deter the Lebanese Resistance Party - Hezbollah - from aiding the Resistance in Gaza against Israeli aggression.

Since then, skirmishes in the area between South Lebanon and northern-occupied Palestine have only intensified while Israeli technical and military losses continue to mount.