Biden Exploits a Tragic Israeli Mistake - WSJ Opinion

Mr. Biden also seems to have forgotten his own mistaken missile strike. When the President’s Irish goodbye from Afghanistan was spoiled by a suicide bombing that killed 13 U.S. troops, he ordered retaliation against ISIS-K. On Aug. 29, 2021, a U.S. Hellfire missile struck a car at a family home in Kabul in what Gen. Mark Milley called a “righteous strike.”

It turned out the strike killed 10 civilians, including seven children. But the Biden Administration wasn’t quick to apologize. “Almost everything senior defense officials asserted in the hours, days and weeks after it turned out to be false,” the New York Times reported.

The explosives supposedly in the targeted car’s trunk were probably water bottles. The driver, an aid worker, had no ISIS ties. It took weeks for the Pentagon to own up to what it called a “tragic mistake.”

The fog of war is real, and for Mr. Biden this and other U.S. strikes were mistakes. But he now holds Israel to a different standard.

The President’s statements on the Israeli strike have moved from “outrage” to recrimination: “This is a major reason why distributing humanitarian aid in Gaza has been so difficult—because Israel has not done enough to protect aid workers.” Left out is a critical word about Hamas, which started this war, steals aid, and murders Palestinians who facilitate aid.