US capable of backing Ukraine, Indo-Pacific partners and Israel at the same time: Sullivan

The US is capable of backing Ukraine in Europe, its Indo-Pacific allies, and Israel at the same time, Jake Sullivan, the American national security advisor has said, at a time when there is concern about an over-stretched Washington DC struggling to cope with multiple global crises at the same time.

Sullivan also laid out the specifics of the American support to Israel, held Iran responsible for its broader complicity and support for Hamas but highlighted that the US didn’t have evidence yet directly linking Tehran to the terror attack on Saturday, and indicated that Israel wasn’t going in for a siege of Hamas and the US was consulting with Israel and Egypt about the options that can be made available to civilians to evacuate Gaza.

US can work across theatres

At a press briefing in the White House on Tuesday, minutes after President Joe Biden delivered a special address on Israel, Sullivan was asked about China’s response to the developments in Israel (in its first statement, Beijing didn’t condemn Hamas and called for a ceasefire), and whether he was worried that the situation in the Middle East would distract US from its Indo-Pacific commitments.

While saying the US wasn’t surprised with China’s response, Sullivan added, “We believe that the United States is capable of supporting Ukraine in Europe, of supporting our allies in the Indo-Pacific, and of supporting our close ally, Israel, in its hour of need. And we believe we have the resources, tools, and capacities to be able to effectively do that. And part of our job is to ensure that we are working across all of these theatres at once. And that’s precisely what we’re doing each day.”

Asked again about concerns among Republican lawmakers about how US can’t support two wars — Republicans in the House are increasingly opposed to more funding and support for Ukraine — Sullivan said, “Standing for Ukraine so that Russian aggression does not prevail in Europe — the amount of resources that we need to put into that compared to the amount of resources we would have to put in if Russia were, in fact, to conquer Ukraine and then potentially have its aggression continue across Europe, it is so much more cost-effective to take the action now, as opposed to pay the huge price later — a price that might ultimately, as it has in the past, require the actual deployment of American troops to combat.”

He added it was therefore better to support the Ukrainians as they stood firm against Russian aggression, and the US had the budget wherewithal to be able to do that. “We also have the budget wherewithal to be able to provide Israel what it needs. And we firmly reject the notion that the United States of America cannot at once support the freedom-loving people of Ukraine and support the State of Israel.”

The role of Iran

Asked about the role of Iran, which welcomed and celebrated the terror attack against Israel, Sullivan said, “Iran is complicit in this attack in a broad sense because they have provided the lion’s share of the funding for the military wing of Hamas, they have provided training, they have provided capabilities, they have provided support, and they have had engagement and contact with Hamas over years and years. And all of that has played a role in contributing to what we have seen.”

But Sullivan then nuanced his statement and said if the question was whether Iran knew about the attack in advance or helped plan or directed this attack, the US, at this moment, did not have confirmation of that.

“We are talking to our Israeli counterparts on a daily basis about this question. We are looking back through our intelligence holdings to see if we have any further information on that. We are looking to acquire further intelligence. And if there’s an update to that, I will share it with you. But as I stand here today, while Iran plays this broad role — sustained, deep, and dark role — in providing all of this support and capabilities to Hamas, in terms of this particular gruesome attack on October 7th, we don’t currently have that information. We will continue to look for it. And if we find it, we will share that with you.”

The nature of Israeli retaliation

In the backdrop of concerns about the nature of Israeli response, Sullivan was asked how much retaliation in Gaza was the US willing to accept. He said he didn’t think of it in terms of retaliation.

“This is about providing support to Israel as it seeks to defend its territory and deal with an ongoing, imminent threat from Hamas terrorists who…are acting a heck of a lot like ISIS terrorists in their barbarity and cruelty. That requires going after Hamas terrorist targets in Gaza because, even as we speak…there could be rockets flying out of Gaza. Going after those sites — that’s not retaliation. That’s Israel stepping up to defend itself and ensure the safety and security of the Israeli people. And we’re going to support them for as long as they need to ensure that Israel is safe and secure. And I can’t put a timetable on that.”

When a reporter pushed back to ask if the goal was the destruction of Hamas or the the guarantee that Hamas couldn’t launch attacks from there or the confirmation that all Americans and Israelis have been secured safely from there or if there was a redline on what needed to be accomplished, Sullivan said he won’t draw red lines but reiterate American support to Israel in its hour of need.

Sullivan also rejected the characterisation of Biden’s earlier reference to his conversation with Israel’s PM Benjamin Netanyahu about the need to respect the rule of law and the law of war as a warning. “The call today was not President Biden warning Prime Minister Netanyahu about anything. It was two leaders talking to one another: one who is leading a nation that has suffered an unfathomable attack, and another nation who is standing behind them four-square in the defense of their country. And the conversation carried on in those terms. And the two leaders spoke in a collaborative fashion, as they always do.”

Asked about the European Union opposing a total siege of Gaza and the American position on it, Sullivan said, “My understanding is that the concept of siege is not something that in fact is going to be pursued by the Israeli government. But we are consulting with the Israeli government about their actions in this regard. And like I said before to a previous question, President Biden and Prime Minister Netanyahu had the opportunity to talk through the difference between going full-bore against Hamas terrorists and how we distinguish between terrorists and innocent civilians.”

With Netanyahu asking residents in Gaza to evacuate now, Sullivan was asked where they could go. He said, “This is something also that we have been discussing with our counterparts in Israel and with our counterparts in Egypt. And without getting into the specifics of safe passage for civilians and so forth, I will say it’s something that the US government is seized with in supporting how we do that operationally.”

Disclaimer: The copyright of this article belongs to the original author. Reposting this article is solely for the purpose of information dissemination and does not constitute any investment advice. If there is any infringement, please contact us immediately. We will make corrections or deletions as necessary. Thank you.