If a war is not existential, finding paths to peace that everybody can live with should be the ultimate goal. 

Most wars since the Treaty of Westphalia in the 17th century have ended this way. Even World War I was more a great power conflict than an existential battle for survival, and while it ended with a lousy treaty it ended with a treaty. 

Israel's wars have been existential wars; the country was literally fighting for survival both for the state and for the people. While most Muslim countries are now reconciled to peace and even cooperation with Israel, the Islamists of Iran and its allies are not. They want Israel gone for good and the Jews all dead. 

In existential wars, you give no quarter to your enemy. Israel has tried this strategy many times and it has never worked. Iran calls America the Great Satan and Israel the Little Satan, and it openly calls for death to America and Israel. 

Joe Biden and, before him, Barack Obama have tried to make lovey-dovey with Iran to the point of shipping billions of dollars on pallets to the country and relieving sanctions. In a very real way, the US is funding both sides of the war because Iran is the real power behind the Houthis, Hamas, and Hezbollah. 

For the internationalist clique, the goal is to keep the war simmering on the back burner, giving breathing space to Iran and its allies, who are on the back foot right now. Either they see the war on Israel in Westphalian terms, assuming that the combatants can find a way to live together peacefully (an insane idea), or they are fine with Israel being under constant threat as long as the number of Jews killed by fanatics is reasonably small in their view. 

The near consensus in Israel that the terrorists of Hamas and Hezbollah must be destroyed by almost any means necessary is correct, and the internationalists are wrong. Israelis shouldn't have to live under the threat of constant shelling terrorist attacks and even be forced to feed and clothe the people who are determined to murder them. The US keeps pressuring them to do this, but the US clearly doesn't have Israel's best interests at heart. 

To be fair, this is fine as long as our policies benefit America. We have no responsibility beyond self-interest to defend Israel. It may be morally right, but morality and international politics rarely overlap perfectly. 

But the truth is that our interests DO align with Israel's. While I don't really buy that Israel serves as a great military ally necessary to give us influence and power in the Middle East, the fact is that Israel's enemies are our enemies. We are the Great Satan, after all, and seen as even worse than Israel in the eyes of the Islamists. 

Iran, Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Houthis are terrible threats to the United States. It was Hezbollah who attacked the Marine barracks in Lebanon, the Houthis have closed the Red Sea and have attacked US ships, and Iran has been shooting at Americans for years. We should want Iran weakened and its clients eliminated. 

The US response to the conflicts in the Middle East has been weak and, in almost all respects, wrong. We have aided and abetted our enemies and pressured our ally to capitulate to terrorists. 

After arriving in NYC, PM Netanyahu reiterated Israel's stance: "Our policy remains firm—we will continue to strike Hezbollah until all our objectives are achieved." pic.twitter.com/ONb6O9ZzPm

— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) September 26, 2024

Netanyahu's policies are not just good for Israel but in the long run for America as well. And, to be honest, for the entire Middle East. 

Most Arab countries are tired of the conflict, hate the Palestinians and the Iranians, and want to get on with the business of strengthening ties with Israel. 

There are two great obstacles to a more durable peace in the Middle East: the United States' weak policies and Iran, who fund the Palestinian radicals. 

Netanyahu is right to ignore international pressure and finish the job.