Israel has stumbled into a dangerous gamble with historic consequences. Its relationship with the Trump administration, for better or worse, has become the beating heart of its national-security doctrine. A foreign leader, however friendly, is imposing his policy on Israel and making decisions, independently of us, that determine when the Israel Defense Forces may act and when they must hold back.

There is no way to dress this up: since US President Trump’s second election, some of Israel’s core national-security decisions are no longer being made solely by the Israeli government or the security cabinet. They are increasingly being shaped in conversations between the prime minister and the US president – and, judging by recent reports, often in accordance with the president’s demands.

The reported exchange in which Trump allegedly berated Netanyahu over Israeli military actions – in the roughest, most candid of terms – is noteworthy not just because of its tone, but also because of what it suggests about the relationship itself. If such reports are accurate, they point to a reality in which Israeli strategic choices are being constrained not through formal alliance mechanisms but through the personal leverage of a foreign leader.

It is hard to overstate the enormous value of the enduring alliance with the United States: technological advantage, diplomatic backing, security assistance, international deterrence. Trump upgraded that alliance when the US military flew wing-to-wing with Israel in the war against our greatest enemy, over Iranian soil. We are the “bestie” of the king of the world. Lucky us.

But all this largesse, it is becoming clear, comes at a price. Israel is failing to translate the IDF’s extraordinary battlefield successes into decisive strategic outcomes. Iran is........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)