Biden’s 100% right to link Israel and Ukraine, but actions must follow his words

President Joe Biden deserves credit for his speech to the nation Thursday night on the Hamas atrocities and the Ukraine war.

He and his team understand that there are deep connections between our backing of Israel, our efforts to aid Ukraine and our larger effort to protect the postwar global order.

As he put it: “Hamas and Putin represent different threats, but they share this in common: They both want to completely annihilate a neighboring democracy.”

The fact that those neighbors are democracies, of course, plays a key role in understanding the aggressions committed against them. 

Wise, too, were the president’s words on deterrence. 

“History has taught us that when terrorists don’t pay a price for their terror, when dictators don’t pay a price for their aggression, they cause more chaos and death and more destruction.”

Russia and Hamas-patron Iran, along with China, form an entente of our enemies; they are happy when any one of them can stir up chaos and strife. 

For years, it seemed this truth had gone by the wayside in American foreign policy. Now a new terrorist tragedy has illuminated it anew. 

Proving critics like GOP Sen. JD Vance (Ohio) dead wrong. 

It’s not, as Vance wrote on X, “completely disgraceful” to link our efforts in helping defend both countries. 

It’s essential.

As for those who argue America is stretched thin: That’s what our enemies want us to be.

Yes, we do need to get our own defense industries up and humming, and to resuscitate our energy sector.  

But if we simply throw up our hands on Ukraine — or on helping beat back Hamas — we hand them victories that will soon see our global power (and freedoms) stripped away, piece by piece. 

Biden also, at long last, mentioned Iran as a key player in both fights.

Tehran’s drones and other armaments aid Putin’s attacks in Ukraine. 

And the Hamas atrocities were undertaken in service of Iran’s hegemonic ambitions. 

We’ve called for Biden to rethink completely his foreign policy.

This speech suggests that there’s some hope he will. 

So now that he’s gotten the words right — what is he going to do about it?