What are the stated purposes of this trip? Secretary of State Blinken listed five purposes: (1) to affirm Israel’s right to defend itself; (2) to make clear to Israel’s enemies that they shouldn’t enter the conflict; (3) to coordinate with Israel on securing the release of hostages; (4) to receive a comprehensive briefing on Israel’s war aims and strategy; and (5) to hear from Israel how it plans to protect the lives of Palestinian “civilians” in Gaza and to make sure humanitarian aid reaches them.

In this post, I will try to show that the first stated purpose — which I think is just window dressing — is at cross purposes with some of the others. The last three purposes are at the heart of the matter, and they amount to an attempt by Biden to constrain Israel’s right to defend itself.

In fact, it’s possible that just by visiting Israel, Biden will constrain it. The Israelis aren’t going to launch an assault on Gaza while Biden is in Israel or anywhere else in the Middle East.

[The IDF told the media today that Biden’s visit won’t have any impact on their strategic planning, but how could it not? That’s especially true when it comes to dealing with — and for — the hostages. Paul plots out the issues well on that, although I’m not convinced that his presence complicates those issues more than they otherwise would be. — Ed]