As Gaza is razed to the ground, President Joe Biden has asserted what he takes to be the United States’ two geopolitical priorities: to provide unconditional support for Israel and to prevent the war from widening across the region. So far he has pursued these aims in tandem — disbursing $14 billion to assist the Israeli slaughter while trying to deter intervention from outside actors. But as the developments of the past week have shown, such objectives are not easily reconciled.

With the United States now mounting reckless attacks on Houthi forces in the Red Sea, there is reason to believe that the White House is simply too impulsive and inept to manage the unfolding crisis. The result could be a conflict that escalates out of its control and compromises its fragile regional hegemony.

Washington knows that Benjamin Netanyahu’s promise to “eliminate Hamas” is a smoke screen, whose primary purpose is to keep him in power and out of jail. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has so far proven more adept at destroying civilian targets than at seriously wounding the militant group, which is too strong and embedded to succumb to its assault.