Amos Hochstein: A profile in subverting American interests

Israelis get what Israelis want. American interests be damned.

Vladimir Ivanov was born in Moscow in the early 1970s and was fascinated with the stories of Russian history and bravery. He was so infatuated by the military exploits of his country that he went on to serve in the Russian army as a tank crewman. Vladimir did several assignments with the Russian army before moving to the United States, where he went on to acquire citizenship. A man of many gifts, Vladimir got into politics and before long he became President Joe Biden’s special envoy to Ukraine where he is directly dealing with the Ukrainians and advising them on their war plans with Russia.

Russian officials love the fact that Vladimir is the man representing the United States in Ukraine. They don’t even hide their excitement. “‘Biden’s guy’: How the Russian tank crewman became the American broker in Ukraine,” enthused RT, the Russian state-owned outlet.

I am sure you have figured out by now that I just made up that story. All of it. There’s no man named Vladimir Ivanov, representing the US in Ukraine. Russians aren’t excited by any American appointment in Ukraine. And RT, albeit a Russian outlet, published no headline about a Russia-friendly Biden guy. This news would be absolutely preposterous and his political opponents would be calling for Biden’s head if he did any such thing — they didn’t even let him off for the relatively minor corruption (by American standards) of getting his drug addict son a multi-million dollar gig for doing nothing in a Ukrainian oil firm. A Russia-friendly envoy would be a bridge too far at a time when American leadership is pining for the Third World War.

However, what I am going to tell you next is 100 percent true:

Amos Hochstein was born in Israel in 1973 to American Jewish immigrants. He served in the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) as a tank crewman before moving to Washington D.C. In the United States, his rise up the political ladder was swift. During his time in D.C., Hochstein “served in a variety of senior level positions, ultimately serving as the Senior Policy Advisor to the Foreign Affairs Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives.” Under Barack Obama, Hochstein was United States Special Envoy and Coordinator for International Energy Affairs. And now under Biden, he has assumed the role of Deputy Assistant to the President and Senior Adviser for Energy and Investment. But more significantly, he is the United States Special Envoy to Lebanon.

The Israeli media loves their guy in the Biden administration, with one of them gushing, “‘Biden’s guy’: How the Israeli tank crewman became the American broker in the gas agreement.”

At a time when the Israelis are rushing headlong into an unwinnable war against Hezbollah — a war that does not align with American interests as its resources are already stretched too thin by the ongoing proxy war in Ukraine against Russia for the past two years — it is clear that for an American Special Envoy in Lebanon, prioritising America’s interests is crucial. But can anyone reasonably expect a former IDF tank crewman to act impartially on issues concerning Israel? One can bring in all the post-modernist theories in existence (and even invent some) to advocate for Hochstein’s impartiality in his dealings with the Lebanese, but all the evidence of the past few months point in the opposite direction.

As I wrote in an earlier article:

Amos Hochstein, the American envoy in Lebanon, when he visited the country in March, spoke in the typical threatening Israeli tone, saying that “a truce in Gaza will not necessarily automatically extend to Lebanon.”

Moreover, one Lebanese outlet reported on Hochstein’s pro-Israel advocacy even as his trip to Lebanon came in his role as an American envoy to the region:

“He warned that if political guarantees were not offered that Hezbollah would stop its military operations in the future, the truce in Gaza would change nothing for Lebanon,” said a source familiar with the discussions on condition of anonymity, due to the sensitivity of the issue.

“[Hochstein] added that even if the truce in Gaza concerns Lebanon as well, this does not mean that we can return to the pre-war situation,” the source continued.

“The tone was quite threatening against a war that would be very harsh if unleashed, and the message quite clear: a halt to the war in South Lebanon has become linked to a change in the situation concerning the presence of Hezbollah south of the Litani River.”

Even the supposed liberal Israeli outlet Haaretz doesn’t expect Hochstein to work with impartiality. An opinion piece in the paper discussed his Middle East appointment under the title “America’s Dishonest Brokers” and sarcastically put the word impartial in quotes when talking about his ability to be a fair dealer.

Elliott Abrams (centre) in conversation with Ronald Reagan.

Elliott Abrams is a ghoul in the same mould as Hochstein. Abrams pleaded guilty to withholding information from Congress during the Iran-Contra affair before being pardoned by Bush Sr. He also played a pivotal role in the American carnage in Central America when the US just wouldn’t allow leftist governments to come to power even if it meant funding literal death squads against popular governments in El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Guatemala.

Abrams was the United States Special Representative for Iran under Trump and is a Biden appointee to the US Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy. Talk about bipartisanship!

In their book, The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy, John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt, write about Abrams:

Abrams is hardly objective about Israel, having previously written in a 1997 book that “there can be no doubt that Jews, faithful to the covenant between God and Abraham, are to stand apart from the nation in which they live. It is the very nature of being Jewish to be apart—except in Israel—from the rest of the population.”

There you have it. They don’t even try to hide it. Dual loyalty is an antisemitic smear? Go tell that to Abrams. Or Hochstein.

Now Hochstein is beating the war drums with Hezbollah. On Wednesday, Middle East Eye reported:

In his meetings in Beirut on Tuesday, US envoy Amos Hochstein delivered “blunt” warnings to Lebanese officials that Israel is preparing to launch a limited offensive on Hezbollah and will have the US’s support if a diplomatic solution isn’t found, a senior Arab official told Middle East Eye.

To break it down: Former Israeli army tank crewman Amos Hochstein wants a war between Israel and Hezbollah — or at a minimum, he is conveying the Israeli desire to go to war with Hezbollah. And as an American representative in Lebanon, he is guaranteeing American support for Israel. You couldn’t make it up.

The Israelis have failed to achieve any of their stated objectives during their eight months of barbarism in Gaza despite being backed to the hilt by their American benefactors. With their resources barely diminished over months of fighting, Hamas is still landing fatal blows on the Israelis. Compared to the Palestinian resistance, Hezbollah is an altogether different ball game with much superior weapons, an even more complex tunnel network, no supply chain issues, and well-trained fighters with recent battle experience in Syria. They defeated the Israelis handily in 2006 and have turned northern Israel into a veritable ghost town with their relentless attacks since October 8.

Southern Lebanon is a quagmire that Americans would rather stay out of. A report in Axios revealed that there are voices in the Biden administration opposed to Israeli aggression in Lebanon. But Israelis get what Israelis want. American interests be damned.

While Vladimir Ivanov — if he ever existed — would have been eaten alive the moment the details of his career in the Russian army came to light, such a career trajectory is kosher for the Israelis. Just ask Hochstein.

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