Israel does a job Americans won't do. Protecting our interests in the Middle East.

Its reward? Non-stop grief from the Biden administration.

The Washington Post is angry at Israel for attacking the terrorist group that drove 70,000 Israelis out of their homes and that, as even Joe Biden has acknowledged, has plenty of American blood on its hands. In its latest report, the Post makes no effort to hide its disgust with Israel:

First Israel ignored a U.S.-led effort to impose a cease-fire in its escalating war against Hezbollah. Then it killed the militant movement’s leader, Hasan Nasrallah, in a massive attack, taking Washington by surprise. Now, following a weekend scramble to avert a ground invasion of Lebanon, Israel is conducting exactly that, underscoring Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s disregard for the Biden administration’s entreaties and the limits of its influence on his actions.

The widening gap between U.S. desires and Israeli behavior has left the administration struggling to adapt its diplomatic efforts to accommodate Netanyahu’s impulses. This chasm between the two allies has become especially pronounced in the days since the White House promised on Wednesday that Israel and Lebanon were about to agree to a cease-fire deal, only to end up a bystander as Netanyahu vowed at the United Nations to wipe out Hezbollah’s ability to threaten Israel for the foreseeable future.

Joe Biden apparently shares the Post’s unhappiness, if not its articulateness. Asked about the Israel’s move into South Lebanon, Biden said:

I’m comfortable with them stopping. We should have a cease-fire now.

Within the administration, though, opinion reportedly is divided:

U.S. officials have been split over the wisdom of the Israeli campaign against Hezbollah, especially since Friday’s killing of Nasrallah. Some say that if a major blow can be dealt to the militant organization without sparking a wider regional conflict that draws in Iran, then that may count as a success. Others are more focused on the risks.

It was left to a State Department spokesman to express the mushy thinking of the liberal foreign policy establishment:

“We of course continue to support a cease-fire,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters Monday. “But at the same time, there are a couple other things that are true as well, which is that, number one, military pressure can, at times, enable diplomacy. Of course, military pressure can also lead to miscalculation. It can lead to unintended consequences, and we’re in conversation with Israel about all these factors now.”

Here’s what the spokesman didn’t say: Military pressure can at times lead to victory over our enemies.

For liberals, though, victory over America’s enemies is an alien concept. Ronald Reagan’s idea of success — “We win; they lose” — is just a quaint bit of Americana. “We talk; they advance” has replaced it.

Actually, it’s not even clear that the Biden administration has any enemies other than Donald Trump and the Republican party.

Biden probably does not regard Israel as an enemy, though some in his circle and many somewhat to his left do. But he does regard Israel as a nuisance, an embarrassment, and an impediment.

Israel actually is an impediment to the Biden’s administration’s goal of appeasing Iran. How could Israel be otherwise? Iran is committed to destroying the Jewish state.

But Iran is also committed to kicking the U.S. out of the Middle East, and there is no reason to believe it can be sweet talked out of pursuing that goal. Thus, Israel should not be considered an impediment to U.S. policy. Rather, the interests of America and Israel converge when Israel tries to take down Iran’s two main proxies — Hamas and Hezbollah. They would also converge if Israel went to war with Iran.

Our friend Richard Vigilante takes this analysis to its logical conclusion. He shows that Israel is not just a U.S. ally, but an ally different from, and superior to, all of our others:

In every formal U.S. military alliance, the motive of our allies is painfully clear. If they get into trouble we will fight their battles.

Israel, with which we have no formal alliance, fights our battles.  It fights them better than we do ourselves.

A low bar, to be sure, but that doesn’t detract from Richard’s point. He continues:

Since the collapse of the Soviet Union Iran has been by far the most relevant and potent enemy of the United States. Its leaders seethe with an irrational hatred that makes its pursuit of a nuclear bomb the most frightening prospect we have faced in decades.

Iran has brought piracy back to the Red Sea disrupting one of the world’s most important trade routes by backing the Houthi. Iran threatens the Sunni middle east, which otherwise is increasingly integrated into the western economy, not merely as a collection of petro-states, but important sources of capital and innovation.

Iran is the primary support of Hezbollah and Hamas, both dedicated to the destruction of Israel which among many other crucial roles is the frontal lobe of the U.S. semiconductor industry and the American path forward on the defense technology of the coming era.

Yet, “America’s performance vs. Israel has been dismal.” In fact:

In the 45 years since Iran declared itself by seizing the U.S. embassy and 66 American hostages, the U.S. government has not done anywhere near the damage to Iran that Israel has done in the past six months and especially the past two weeks.

You know the specifics. The crushing of Iran’s second most important proxy, Hamas. The humiliation of its most important proxy, Hezbollah, and the destruction of that outfit's command and control system.

As Richard says, “Iran spent well over $10 billion, decades of effort, and enormous political capital building up Hezbollah and Hamas as proxy armies. Both stand on the brink of ruin today, thanks to Israel.”

Iran’s third most important proxy is the Houthi force in Yemen. According to Richard, “Israel’s strikes against Houthi bases in the past few days have been many times more destructive and effective than hardly more than symbolic U.S. reprisals.”

And let’s not forget the complete repulse of the massive Iranian missile and drone attack against Israel in April. (Today’s attack on Israel appears also to not to have done much damage.) In Richard’s view, “that day changed the world, testifying to a massive shift in the military advantage toward the defense and against aggressors.”

The U.S. deserves major credit for supplying Israel with systems that help defend against Iran’s missile and drone attack. But when Iran launches deadly weapons at Israel, the lives at risk are Israeli, not American.

Richard concludes that Israel “is more effective on behalf of U.S. interests than the U.S.” I agree.

Yet, the Washington Post and the Biden administration are so indifferent when it comes to promoting our interests (and so confused about what our interests are) that Israel has become their bête noire.