What Can Israel Learn From the U.S. Response to 9/11?

While speaking in Tel Aviv, Israel, on Wednesday, President Joe Biden warned Israeli leadership not to be “consumed” by rage and to learn from the “mistakes” made by the United States in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks.

Biden’s Warning: “I’m sure those horrors have tapped into some kind of primal feeling in Israel just like it did in the United States,” Biden stated. “Shock, pain, rage. An all-consuming rage.” Biden went on to say, “Justice must be done. But I caution this: While you feel that rage, don’t be consumed by it. After 9/11 we were enraged in the United States. While we sought justice and got justice, we also made mistakes.”

Bipartisan Regret: Biden’s warning comes the same day as the release of an AP-NORC poll, which concluded that a majority of both Democrats and Republicans believe America’s war in Afghanistan — a war started in response to the 9/11 attacks — was not worth fighting. Only 29% stated that the U.S. succeeded in “eliminating the threat from Islamic extremists taking shelter in Afghanistan.”

Gaza Endgame: Echoing American frustration with the two-decade-long conflict in Afghanistan, Reuters (Center bias) is reporting that Israeli officials have “no obvious endgame in sight, with no clear plan for how to govern the ravaged Palestinian enclave even if it triumphs on the battlefield.” Israeli officials reportedly “don't have a clear idea for what a post-war future might look like” for Gaza.