Tarnished by Oct. 7, Netanyahu's legacy may be reshaped by war with Iran
'Netanyahu has proven that he is a phoenix,' said veteran Israeli journalist and Netanyahu biographer Mazal Mualem.
Advertisement
Netanyahu's troubled legacy is granted a lifeline
The war is far from won. Israel is still vulnerable to Iranian attacks, and whatever political boost Netanyahu gains from the latest developments could dissipate by elections scheduled for next year. He is the same polarizing leader he was yesterday.
Internationally, he faces an arrest warrant for charges of war crimes in Gaza. He is widely reviled across the Arab world. And after nearly two years of regionwide conflict, many critics see him as a warmonger responsible for tens of thousands of deaths in Gaza and elsewhere in the Middle East.
But domestically, where Netanyahu's eyes are always focused, his legacy has been granted a lifeline.
Advertisement
Many Israelis are attuned to Netanyahu's campaign against Iran's nuclear program, which they view as a major threat to their country and are therefore relieved by the direct involvement of the U.S. military.
'Netanyahu is seen as a very divisive and destructive leader. He is seen as someone who talks a lot and doesn't do anything,' said Aviv Bushinsky, a former Netanyahu aide. 'Today, Netanyahu redeemed himself, big time.'
In an early morning video statement after the U.S. strike on Iran's nuclear facilities, Netanyahu could barely contain a smile as he thanked President Donald Trump. He said the intervention would 'change history.'
It's a stunning turnaround for an Israeli leader who critics and analysts largely wrote off in the days after Oct. 7, when he presided over the deadliest attack in Israel's history. Many hold Netanyahu personally responsible for overseeing policies that enabled Hamas to retain power in Gaza for many years and build up a formidable arsenal.
Netanyahu has been buoyed occasionally since then by military successes against Hamas and the Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon. But with the Gaza war dragging on with no end in sight, and dozens of Israeli hostages still in captivity, his approval ratings have remained low.
The week-old assault on Iran, highlighted by Sunday's U.S. attack, grants Netanyahu a chance for salvation.
Netanyahu's yearslong focus on Iran
The war caps a yearslong focus — some would say obsession — by Netanyahu on Iran and its nuclear program. Since his first term as prime minister in the 1990s, and throughout his current, nearly uninterrupted 16-year rule, he has made challenging Iran's nuclear program his life's work.
Advertisement
Netanyahu has long portrayed Iran as an existential threat — pointing not only to its nuclear program, but also its development of long-range missiles aimed at Israel and support for hostile militant groups on Israel's borders.
Iran became a repeated theme in his speeches to the Israeli and international public. He famously hoisted a cartoon bomb from the dais of U.N. General Assembly as he accused Iran of developing a nuclear weapon. Iran insists the program is for civilian purposes. At the same time, Netanyahu has made no mention of Israel's own widely suspected nuclear weapons arsenal.
This satellite image provided by Maxar Technologies shows damage at the Fordo enrichment facility in Iran after US strikes on Sunday.
Uncredited/Associated Press
Netanyahu took significant diplomatic risks to pursue his crusade, including with a 2015 speech to Congress that was organized by Republican lawmakers, angering the Obama administration. During the speech, he railed against a U.S.-led deal on Iran's nuclear program just as negotiators were wrapping up its details. Trump unilaterally withdrew the U.S. from the agreement during his first term.
Some critics say that it was Netanyahu's laser focus on Iran, and the military and intelligence resources devoted to it, that blinded the Israeli leader and the defense establishment to the threat Hamas in Gaza.
Hamas' attack is a stain on Netanyahu's legacy
Hamas' attack, in which 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage, blindsided Israel. Netanyahu, who likes to portray himself as a security hawk and the only true guardian of Israel, is seen by many as having promoted a failed strategy in the years preceding the Oct. 7 attack by sending huge amounts of aid into in Gaza under the misconception that Hamas was deterred.
Palestinians celebrate by a destroyed Israeli tank at the border fence between Israel and the Gaza Strip, east of Khan Younis, during a surprise attack on Israel, Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023.
Hassan Eslaiah/Associated Press
In fact, the Palestinian militant group would stage a brutal assault that would crush Israel's vaunted defenses and change the course of history.
In the aftermath of Hamas' attack, Netanyahu's public support plummeted.
Advertisement
Netanyahu shrugged off accountability for Hamas' attacks, pointing a finger at his security chiefs and rejecting demands for a public inquiry into the failures. He says he will answer tough questions about his role after the war, now in its 21st month.
Any political boost from the war could fade by elections
Netanyahu's work is not done. The war in Gaza grinds on, and Netanyahu still dreams of seeing a normalization deal between Israel and Arab powerhouse Saudi Arabia as part of his legacy.
The question remains whether Netanyahu will rebound politically from the Iran war. Polls taken last week showed that Netanyahu would still struggle to form a coalition if elections were held today. Even if he gets a bump from Sunday's U.S. attack, it's not clear how long that might last.
Bushinsky compared Netanyahu's potential political predicament to a world leader he likes to compare himself to, Winston Churchill, who, after leading the allies in triumphantly defeating the Nazis in World War II, did not get reelected in a 1945 vote in part because public priorities shifted dramatically.
'Bibi may be 'King of Israel,' Bushinsky said, using a nickname for Netanyahu popular among his supporters, 'but even a king has his limits.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CNN
8 minutes ago
- CNN
Freak storm leads to tragedy on Lake Tahoe
Freak storm leads to tragedy on Lake Tahoe A sudden storm rolled in over Lake Tahoe causing extreme conditions while people were enjoying a sunny summer day. 00:41 - Source: CNN Dashcam captures strike near Ashdod Dashcam footage posted on social media shows the moment an Iranian airstrike made impact near the Israeli city of Ashdod. According to Israeli national emergency service MDA, crews have been dispatched to reported impact sites across the country following a barrage of missiles from Iran. 00:46 - Source: CNN CNN team witnesses Israeli strike on Tehran Israeli airstrikes rocked the north of Tehran on Monday. CNN's Frederik Pleitgen shows the aftermath of the attack. 01:14 - Source: CNN Why the Strait of Hormuz is so significant As Iran threatens to disrupt and close the Strait of Hormuz, CNN's Nick Paton Walsh breaks down why this narrow passage is so important. 00:58 - Source: CNN World leaders divided after US attack on Iran The UN Security Council was deeply divided during an emergency session called after US military strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities. 01:27 - Source: CNN Iranians demonstrate against US strikes US President Donald Trump's decision to launch direct strikes against Iranian nuclear sites has sparked a wave of anger in the country, with people on the streets of Tehran telling CNN they expect their country to strike back. 01:33 - Source: CNN Bernie Sanders reacts to US strikes on Iran during speech Sen. Bernie Sanders held a "Fighting Oligarchy" rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, when he received news of President Donald Trump's strikes on Iran. 01:38 - Source: CNN Satellite images show before and after US strikes in Iran Iran's largest nuclear complex was dealt a series of severe blows in US strikes on Sunday, a CNN analysis of satellite imagery found. See the before and after images, provided by Maxar Technologies, showing the damage visible at three of Iran's nuclear facilities. Initial damage assessments to the three sites are ongoing, according to the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency. 00:54 - Source: CNN Iranian foreign minister responds to US strikes The Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has condemned US strikes on the country's nuclear facilities. He said Iran continues to defend itself by all means necessary against US and Israeli military aggression, and that the US holds "full responsibility for the consequences of its actions." 01:12 - Source: CNN 'No one dirtier than Trump': Iranians react to US strikes CNN's Fred Pleitgen is on the streets of Tehran, Iran's capital city, a day after US President Donald Trump confirmed he approved US strikes on Iran. Hear from residents in the city who say the strikes strengthen their support for Iranian leadership. 00:56 - Source: CNN General describes moment US bomb was dropped on Iran Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine detailed the moment US B2 bombers dropped Massive Ordnance Penetrator bombs on Iran's Fordow nuclear plant followed by Tomahawk missiles striking Isfahan. The strikes were announced Saturday by President Trump. 00:53 - Source: CNN Iranian FM spokesperson: Trump administration betrayed diplomacy Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Esmail Baghaei spoke exclusively to CNN's Fred Pleitgen in Iran after the US attacked three key nuclear facilities in the country. Baghaei said the US' actions were "unprecedentedly dangerous" and a "betrayal of diplomacy." 01:27 - Source: CNN First attack on Israel since US struck Iran Israeli emergency responders deployed to multiple sites after reports of impacts from a fresh wave of Iranian missiles. The strikes were the first by Iran since the US announced it had attacked the country's nuclear facilities. 00:49 - Source: CNN CNN on blast site in Tel Aviv: 'A scene of complete devastation' CNN International Diplomatic Editor Nic Robertson in Tel Aviv walks through destroyed apartment buildings after the site got hit by Iranian missile strikes in response to the US' attack. 01:21 - Source: CNN Here's what the US used to attack Iran The US launched a significant military operation targeting Iran's nuclear facilities. CNN military analyst Cedric Leighton breaks down which weapons were deployed, including the Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP) for the first time in US combat history. 01:38 - Source: CNN Fareed reacts to US strikes in Iran The US has struck three nuclear sites in Iran, including Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan, US President Donald Trump said on social media, as the conflict between Israel and Iran enters its second week. CNN's Fareed Zakaria joins Anderson Cooper to discuss. 02:30 - Source: CNN Hegseth says 'American deterrence is back' US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth addressed reporters during a Pentagon briefing Sunday morning following President Trump's weekend announcement of US strikes on Iran. Trump had said the US had struck Iranian nuclear sites including Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan. 01:17 - Source: CNN Video shows missiles from Iran streaking skies of Israel CNN's Anderson Cooper reports live from Tel Aviv, as Israel's military says it identified missiles launched from Iran and that defense systems are working to intercept them. The military called on the public to "enter a protected space" and stay there until further notice. Israel has also begun a new wave of attacks in Iran, its military said Saturday. 00:31 - Source: CNN Mahmoud Khalil speaks after being released from ICE detention center Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil was released on bail on Friday from a Louisiana ICE detention center, more than three months after he was arrested outside his apartment on Columbia University's campus. The judge found Khalil is not a flight risk or a danger to public safety, saying it's 'highly unusual' to be seeking his detention at this point. 00:36 - Source: CNN Israel and Iran vow to keep fighting Both Iran and Israel's UN ambassadors say that their countries will continue to fight during a tense UN Security Council meeting. 01:25 - Source: CNN Border patrol agents arrest US citizen standing up for detained maintenance worker A US citizen has been arrested after a physical altercation with immigration agents after they detained a maintenance worker at a shopping center in Pico Rivera, California. 01:33 - Source: CNN Anderson Cooper reports from a bomb shelter in Israel CNN's Anderson Cooper reports from a bomb shelter in the basement of a hotel in Tel Aviv as Iran fires another round of missiles at Israel. 01:13 - Source: CNN Why Trump rebuked his own intel chief CNN's Kristen Holmes reports on how Tulsi Gabbard's standing inside the Trump administration has diminished in recent weeks. President Donald Trump has come to see the director of national intelligence as "off message" when it comes to the conflict in the Middle East, according to one senior White House advisor. 02:04 - Source: CNN Inside the room of the Geneva-Iran talks Talks between European and Iranian officials in Geneva, Switzerland were "very tense" at first, but then became much more positive. CNN's Matthew Chance takes us inside the room where these talks took place. 02:04 - Source: CNN Why aren't tariffs causing inflation? For the past year, many economists warned that tariffs would increase prices, but inflation is lower today than when President Trump took office. CNN's Matt Egan breaks down why this might be the case and how economists expect that to change in the coming months. 01:09 - Source: CNN Aftermath of Iranian strike on Haifa CNN's Nic Robertson shows the aftermath of an Iranian strike on Haifa, Israel, less than an hour after it made impact. The strike wounded at least 17 people according to Israeli national emergency service MDA. 00:48 - Source: CNN Jewish GOP Congressman says he was 'run off the road' GOP Rep. Max Miller said he was 'run off the road' on his way to work in Ohio by an individual who yelled "Death to Israel" and had a Palestinian flag. Miller is Jewish and describes himself as a staunch defender of Israel. 00:50 - Source: CNN Iran's foreign minister responds to Trump's call for negotiations After President Trump opened a two-week negotiating window before he decides whether to strike Iran, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says the country is not seeking negotiations with the United States. 00:16 - Source: CNN Obama's energy secretary on Iran's ability to make a nuclear bomb CNN's Erin Burnett speaks with Ernest Moniz, the former US energy secretary under Obama and negotiator of the Iran nuclear deal, about the country's nuclear capabilities. 02:03 - Source: CNN CDC official who resigned warns of 'older adults dying unnecessarily' Former infectious disease expert Dr. Fiona Havers speaks with CNN's Jake Tapper after resigning from the CDC citing concerns about changes to the agency's vaccine processes under US Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. 01:02 - Source: CNN IAEA chief says report on Iran's nuclear program 'not new' CNN's Anderson Cooper speaks with IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi about the watchdog agency's report findings cited in part by Israeli authorities for its attacks on Iran. 03:24 - Source: CNN Scores killed in Gaza in latest Israeli strikes Israeli strikes in Gaza killed more than 70 people on Thursday, with multiple children dying. Injured children, screaming in pain, were brought to Baptist Hospital in Gaza City and other children appeared lifeless as they were carried into the ward. 00:45 - Source: CNN Video appears to show increase in aerial activity over Tehran CNN's Fred Pleitgen reports on the ground in Tehran, Iran, and witnesses increased aerial activity over the city as the Israel-Iran conflict continues. 01:02 - Source: CNN FDA approves twice-a-year shot to prevent HIV A drug already used to treat HIV has now been given FDA approval to prevent new infections, and the drugmaker says it is remarkably effective. 01:20 - Source: CNN Iranian missile strikes major Israeli medical center CNN's International Diplomatic Editor, Nic Robertson, reports from Beer Sheva, Israel, where a hospital was struck during an Iranian attack. Iran said it was targeting an Israeli intelligence and command center 'near a hospital.' There have been no reported deaths from the strike. 01:04 - Source: CNN Trump admin. to end 988 suicide prevention service for LGBTQ+ youth The Trump administration is ending the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline's specialized services for LGBTQ+ youth on July 17. CNN's Jacqueline Howard reports. 01:01 - Source: CNN Israel's defense minister: Khamenei cannot 'continue to exist' Israel's Defense Minister Israel Katz said Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei cannot be allowed to 'continue to exist,' after an Israeli hospital was struck by an Iranian missile on Thursday. 00:13 - Source: CNN SpaceX Starship rocket explodes An explosion occurred late Wednesday night at SpaceX's Starbase facility in South Texas. A Starship rocket preparing for its tenth flight test experienced a 'major anomaly,' SpaceX says. There were no injuries and all employees are accounted for, according to SpaceX. The cause of the explosion and the extent of any damage are unclear. CNN has reached out to local police and fire departments for more information. 00:35 - Source: CNN Sole survivor of Air India crash mourns brother Vishwash Kumar Ramesh is the only survivor among 242 on board an Air India flight that crashed in Ahmedabad on June 12. On Wednesday Ramesh attended the funeral for his brother, who died in the tragedy. 00:30 - Source: CNN Hear former President Obama's warning about direction of the US Former President Barack Obama warned that the United States is 'dangerously close' to becoming 'consistent with autocracies' during a civic group event in Connecticut. 00:56 - Source: CNN Anne Burrell dead at 55 Anne Burrell, a chef and television personality whose joyful demeanor made her a beloved fixture on the Food Network, has died, according to the network. She was 55. 00:38 - Source: CNN NYC mayoral candidate arrested at immigration court New York City Comptroller and mayoral candidate Brad Lander was released from federal custody Tuesday afternoon, hours after he was arrested by officers at an immigration court in Manhattan when he tried to escort a migrant whom officers were attempting to arrest. 01:48 - Source: CNN
New York Times
13 minutes ago
- New York Times
The Danger of an Unrestrained President to the World
Acting on President Trump's orders, the U.S. military conducted a strike early Sunday morning against three Iranian nuclear facilities. Few knew of the strikes in advance. Mr. Trump did not seek advance approval from Congress or the U.N. Security Council, as required by law. The unlawful strikes have thus laid bare the dangerous absence of any effective legal constraints — whether domestic or international — on the decision of the American president to use deadly force anywhere in the world. It has become almost quaint to observe that the Constitution gives Congress, not the president, the power to declare war. Yes, the president is commander in chief of the military, but he is obligated to seek authorization from Congress before he initiates a war. The 1973 War Powers Resolution does not change this. Enacted in response to President Richard Nixon's secret bombing campaign in Cambodia, that legislation is meant to prevent a president from launching illegal wars by legally requiring the president to seek approval of Congress before introducing U.S. armed forces 'into hostilities or into situations where imminent involvement in hostilities is clearly indicated by the circumstances.' The only case in which the president is not required to seek the advance approval of Congress is when the United States has been attacked and the president must act quickly to protect the country. That was not true when it came to Iran. Quite the opposite. In a speech claiming credit for the attacks, Mr. Trump pointed to the fact that Iran had been making threats against the United States for '40 years.' Nothing in what he or Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has subsequently said points to an urgent threat to America that prevented the president from seeking Congress's consent before unleashing deadly force that could provoke retaliation against the United States and U.S. forces in the region. (And indeed, such a retaliation appears to have just taken place, as Iran fired missiles at a U.S. base in Qatar.) Nor can these strikes be shoehorned into the existing congressional authorizations for the use of force — one in 2001 against those responsible for the Sept. 11 attacks and another in 2002 against Iraq under Saddam Hussein. The president has thus claimed for himself power that the Constitution expressly gives to Congress. Just as the president is legally bound to seek authorization from Congress before launching a war, so too is he required to seek authorization from the United Nations Security Council. In the wake of World War II, the United States designed and championed a global system where the use of coercive authority by any state against another was subject to collective checks. The United Nations Charter provides that signatory states must 'refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state.' This prohibition on the unilateral resort to force is the foundational principle of the postwar legal order. Only if the Security Council votes to authorize a war — or where a state is the subject of an 'armed attack' — may a state that has ratified the U.N. Charter resort to force against another state. Yes, the requirement of gaining support from the Security Council is an obstacle, but it is an obstacle to Russia and China as much as it is to the United States. The requirement to seek and obtain Security Council authorization before using force, moreover, gives the United States extraordinary power: The United States holds one of five permanent seats on the Security Council and, with it, has a veto over any decision to authorize the use of force. While no legal system is perfect — and this one is no exception, as today's global conflicts show — the U.N. Charter has nevertheless helped produce the most peaceful and prosperous era the world has ever seen. Donald Trump has now fully embraced the so-called Bush Doctrine, a foreign policy stance that holds that the United States can use force pre-emptively against a perceived threat — to itself or others. This was the key legal basis for the disastrous 2003 war in Iraq, held up as necessary to prevent the use of weapons of mass destruction — weapons that, it turned out, did not exist. Even then, President George W. Bush at least engaged with the Security Council and sought and won authorization from Congress before he launched that war. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
CBS News
13 minutes ago
- CBS News
Iran launches missile attack on U.S. base at Al Udeid in Qatar
Iran said Monday that it launched an attack on the U.S. Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, two days after the U.S. struck three nuclear sites in Iran. Explosions were heard in Qatar as witnesses said they saw what appeared to be missiles over the country, multiple news agencies reported. Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it targeted the U.S. base at Al Udeid in Qatar with a "devastating and powerful missile." Iranian state media earlier announced an operation launching missile attacks against U.S. bases named "Annunciation of Victory." A U.S. defense official confirmed that the base was attacked by short-range and medium-range ballistic missiles originating from Iran today. At this time, the official said, there are no reports of U.S. casualties. They said officials are monitoring the situation closely and will provide more information as it becomes available. Map shows location of the U.S. Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar. Mehmet Yaren Bozgun/Anadolu via Getty Images The Qatari government also confirmed the strike targeting the air base and said its air defenses "thwarted the attack and successfully intercepted the Iranian missiles." The country's defense ministry said there were no injuries. "The State of Qatar strongly condemns the attack that targeted Al-Udeid Air Base by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. We consider this a flagrant violation of the sovereignty of the State of Qatar, its airspace, international law, and the United Nations Charter," a spokesperson for the Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement shared on social media. "We affirm that Qatar reserves the right to respond directly in a manner equivalent with the nature and scale of this brazen aggression, in line with international law." A senior White House official said the White House and the Department of Defense are aware of, and closely monitoring, potential threats to Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, which serves as the forward headquarters for CENTCOM. Thousands of U.S. troops are based there and are sheltering in place. Air raid sirens also sounded in Bahrain, which announced the temporary closure of its airspace on Monday. Bahrain is home to a U.S. naval base that serves as the headquarters of the U.S. 5th Fleet. An estimated 9,000 service members are stationed there. Bahrain's Ministry of Interior urged people to "remain calm and head to the nearest safe place," adding that they should "seek shelter in the nearest building or take cover in a safe, enclosed area until the danger has passed." U.S. and Qatari officials had meetings over the weekend and Monday morning to prepare for this attack, according to diplomatic sources, who said the retaliation was expected and calibrated. The U.S. has about 45,000 military personnel, numerous bases and air and naval fleets that it can deploy across the Middle East. Omar Zaghloul/Anadolu via Getty Images Earlier Monday, the U.S. Embassy in Qatar warned Americans to shelter in place "until further notice," and Qatar's foreign ministry said the country was closing its airspace "to ensure the safety of citizens, residents, and visitors." The U.S. bombed three Iranian nuclear sites over the weekend. It came after more than a week of Israeli attacks on Iranian targets and Iranian strikes on Israel. Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said Sunday that the U.S. had "practically placed itself at the forefront of aggression by directly attacking peaceful facilities." It alluded to plans to attack U.S. assets in the Middle East, saying "the number, dispersion, and size of U.S. military bases in the region are not a strength, but have doubled their vulnerability." This is a developing story. Please check back for updates. , , , and contributed to this report.
