It was not long after World War II and the onset of the Cold War that President Harry S. Truman inaugurated the containment doctrine in 1947. The attempt to contain the spread of communism by the Soviet Union, without risking a nuclear confrontation with the USSR, served as the impetus for the doctrine.
Along those lines, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu exercised similar reasoning prior to the Hamas-led attacks in southern Israel on Oct. 7, in the hopes of restraining the terrorist organization in Gaza.
U.S. President Jimmy Carter essentially continued Truman’s containment doctrine, thinking that he could work with the Soviets by somehow making human rights, rather than Cold War national interests, a policy. It backfired. The Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in December 1979. That same year, the world watched as the Shah of Iran was deposed and Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, who returned from exile in France, grabbed the reins of power of the Islamic Republic.
The murderous, theocratic regime in Tehran sanctioned radical “students” to invade the U.S. embassy, resulting in the holding of 52 American diplomats hostage for 444 days. Iran’s “invasion” of a U.S. territory, which defines an embassy, was essentially a declaration of war against the then-President Jimmy Carter, whose reaction was weak and indecisive. Instead of using full force against the mullahs, he oversaw a bungled military rescue operation.
Decades later, former President George W. Bush picked on the wrong country to flex U.S. muscles. On the pretext that Iraq’s failed cooperation with the United Nations and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on inspection of suspected sites in contravention of U.N. Resolution 1441, the United States invaded in March 2003. Saddam Hussein was overthrown in April 2003 and executed by hanging on Dec. 30, 2006, in Baghdad. No nuclear materials were found. The Islamic Republic was strengthened, and they reacted to the American military action by convincing itself of its need to acquire nuclear weapons.
Former President Barack Obama chose another form of containment—bribing the mullahs into agreeing to a nuclear deal. In July of 2015, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) was signed.
The JCPOA was a temporary and limited deal that only modestly addressed one of the crucial issues presented by the regime: its nuclear program. Most importantly, all restrictions on the ayatollahs pertaining to their nuclear enrichment were to expire in 2025.
At the same time, the deal provided tens of billions of dollars in sanctions relief that enabled Iran to escalate its campaign of terrorism, its regional destabilization and a whole host of other actions that threatened the world. It was a bad deal and one that President Donald Trump would pull out of in May 2018 during his first term.
That deal with Iran was the essence of a containment policy. Rather than taking decisive action that would eliminate the nuclear threat from the top state sponsor of global terrorism, the Obama administration sent pallets of cash that totaled $1.7 billion to the Iranian regime.
Under his watch, former President Joe Biden sought to revive the JCPOA in an effort to continue the containment policy of his former boss. The Tehran regime refused to negotiate and proceeded to increase the enrichment of uranium to levels that would enable the country to produce an atomic bomb.
In the meantime, Netanyahu also followed the containment doctrine. He and top Israeli military leaders believed that Hamas could be deterred. In all previous skirmishes with Hamas in Gaza (2008-2009, 2012, 2014), Israel sought limited operations, essentially seeking quiet along the border. Rather than taking decisive action to eliminate the Hamas threat, once and for all, they opted for containment. The limited responses did not deter Hamas from seeking a permanent war and the destruction of Israel.
“Operation Cast Lead” (2008-09) lasted three weeks. Israel withdrew its forces and left Hamas, with little damage to their infrastructure, in a position to provoke the next war.
“Operation Pillar of Defense” (Nov. 14-21, 2012) was an eight-day Israeli military campaign in the Strip targeting Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad leadership, initiated as a response to intense rocket fire. Key actions included the killing of Hamas military chief Ahmed Jabari and significant damage to rocket launchers. The operation ended with an Egypt/U.S.-brokered ceasefire.
“Operation Protective Edge” was a 50-day military operation launched by Israel against Hamas from July 8 to Aug. 26, 2014, aimed at stopping rocket fire and destroying cross-border infiltration tunnels.
In May 2023, Israel responded to rockets from the Palestinian Islamic Jihad by launching “Operation Shield and Arrow.” Significantly, Hamas was not actively involved, giving Israel the impression that Hamas was deterred.
Oct. 7 changed Jerusalem’s strategic thinking: No more opting for temporary “quiet time” to give Israelis a little respite. Instead, the new policy called for direct and decisive action in dealing with Iran and its terror proxies, including Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis. This time, Israel will not stop until it achieves the elimination of the existential threat to its people.
Unlike his predecessors, Trump no longer believes in containment; instead, he is engaged in peacemaking to solve global conflicts. However, when Iran refused to negotiate a stricter nuclear deal, eliminate its lethal rockets and stop producing long-range rockets with potential nuclear payloads while continuing its engagement in worldwide terror, Washington took decisive action to destroy Iran’s ability to pose an existential threat to the United States and its allies.
China and Russia are now facing a strong U.S. president who fortified America’s defense budget and is willing to exercise power on the global stage. The administration is acting with confidence that sends strong signals to its adversaries: Do not provoke Trump’s America.
