The current deployment of the U.S. Sixth Fleet to the Eastern Mediterranean is not an unprecedented move. Thus, for example, as early as April 1957, the Navy was deployed in this theater in a move designed to project the determination of President Eisenhower's administration to defend, if necessary, the Hashemite Kingdom against threats from Egypt and Syria.
President Biden, Photo: Reuters
Four months later, the picture changed again, when the administration turned the Sixth Fleet into a powerful lever to contain and restrain the radical Syrian regime, thwarting the challenge it posed under the auspices of its Kremlin patron to Damascus' neighbors and regional stability.
In both of these crises, as well as in a whole host of other tense incidents over the following decades, American sword-brushing achieved its goal, and the fragile status quo was not violated by militant and challengers.
Hassan Nasrallah.Direct threat to him, photo: AFP
Although President Biden's decision to send a naval force to the sector is unprecedented, the extensive scope of the operation (which includes the immediate transfer of the aircraft carrier Gerald Ford to the eastern Mediterranean, accompanied by three destroyers), and the fact that a package of military aid to Israel in the form of armaments for aircraft and the Iron Dome system is attached to the operation, indicate that the White House was determined to send a sharp deterrent message. Clear and firm not only to Hamas itself, but also to its patrons in Tehran and the global sphere (including Moscow).
Attack on the luxury Rimal neighborhood in Gaza // Photo: Arab networks
The core of this message is grounded in the proof that the American superpower has no intention of denying its obligations to its regional allies at all, or disengaging from this space altogether. On the contrary, the deployment of the formidable Gerald Ford in the Eastern Mediterranean (with 75 planes on board), along with the immediate supply of weapons to Israel, with additional aid packages in the pipeline, were intended to signal to all the relevant players in the international sphere that the rumors of the collapse of the status of the American superpower in this subsystem were premature. In practice, and against the backdrop of the challenge from the South, the message that emerges from the American strategy is unequivocal: Any aggressive action from the North – the province of Hezbollah – will be met with an American steel fist, which, like the Korean War, will teach the evildoers from the North an unforgettable lesson.
Reliability projection
But beyond the desire to show solidarity and provide immediate support and assistance to its ally Israel, which has been brutally attacked by a radical and murderous terrorist organization, the administration's goals in its vigorous and decisive strategic initiative go beyond the immediate environment surrounding Israel. This is a dramatic decision, the echoes of which should also be heard in Riyadh. Since Uncle Sam's country is supposed to play a key role in the normalization process taking shape between Israel and Saudi Arabia, the current show of force is intended to encourage and encourage Saudi leader bin Salman to continue walking the path of an American-backed settlement without hesitation. In other words, the Biden administration, which appears determined in its efforts to deter and thwart any further aggression against Israel (while at the same time working to strengthen and strengthen Israeli capabilities in light of the invasion from the south), will also act with similar aggression, with Iran's expected attempts to sabotage the regional peace process, which is taking shape, on the agenda.
Iranian President Raisi. Message from the United States, Photo: AP
The intention of "all Biden people" is to reflect in their current conduct their basic "operational code" in projecting unwavering credibility and determination when it comes to fulfilling obligations, both moral and formal. In the Saudi context, the American naval presence is intended to signal and demonstrate to Saudi Arabia that its specific and contractual promises to compensate Riyadh for its willingness to advance at an accelerated pace towards the realization of the desired vision of normalization are cast in stone, and it is also determined to provide it with a safety net and a strong umbrella of defense in the face of all the challenges that the royal family may face when the agreement is signed.
In this respect, the launch to the theater of the largest American aircraft carrier in the US Navy can be identified as having another derivative meaning. Specifically, assuming that the Israeli response to the atrocities and mass murder committed by Hamas will be massive and harsh, Washington is signaling in its actions to Riyadh that it must not be deterred or deviate from its policy, even if there are voices of condemnation against Israel in the region. For in light of the immediate and tangible danger that has just been exposed in such a traumatic and chilling way, inherent in the activity of the axis of evil, murder and terror, the American eagle remains the only global brake and barrier with which to fight the axis of all-out war. The message is clear: Saudi Arabia should give its unconditional support to the American hegemon, who today comes out against the forces of darkness, which have recently threatened the stability and very existence of the Saudi royal family.
Time will tell if this will be the case when the darkness of the clouds still envelops the sky. Another central question, which deserves a separate discussion, is whether the current display of American power in the arena will immediately shut down the specific American policy toward Iran as well. After all, Tehran is regularly a breeding ground and a stronghold of support and central support for Hamas terrorism. It should not be forgotten that this policy has been based mainly until now, in the Biden era, on the carrot of temptation and compensation as a means of softening the regime of the ayatollahs in Tehran rather than a stick of deterrence, enforcement and punishment against it. Will the administration now become disillusioned with its belief that it is possible to ride on the back of the prey-seeking tiger and steer it to a softer and more moderate course of action? Is it even possible to reconcile the contradiction between the president's desire to establish an Israeli-Saudi arrangement under his auspices and with his vigorous backing, and his desire to improve his relations with the Iranian terrorist regime? We'll wait and see.
The writer is the recipient of the Israel Prize in the field of political science, management sciences and international relations for the year 2020/20. Professor Emeritus in the Department of Political Science at the University of Haifa
Wrong? We'll fix it! If you find a mistake in the article, please share with us