Pete Buttigieg by DonkeyHotey, licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0/Original

Mayor Pete Buttigieg should know better than to demand concessions from Israel regarding land it has already paid for, in blood.

In a recent interview with Axios Democrat Presidential contender, Mayor, and one-time Naval Lieutenant, Pete Buttigieg made a couple of comments I found surprising coming from a former military officer.

When asked about President Trump’s decision to move the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, Buttigieg responded

That doesn’t mean he did the right thing. Here’s the problem with what he did … [I]f you’re going to make a concession like that, if you’re going to give somebody something that they’ve wanted for a long time in the context of a push-pull, even with a strong ally like Israel, right? We have a push-pull relationship. And you don’t do that without getting some kind of concession.

Somebody needs to explain to that young man how our system works. The United States Embassy to Israel has since 1995, been required by U.S. Law, to be located in Jerusalem. Taking “care that the laws be faithfully executed,” in the case of the 1995 statute, requires no use of leverage, trade-offs or concessions from the State of Israel. All that is required, is the intestinal fortitude displayed by President Trump.

To make matters worse, the boy mayor just had to spout off about the Golan Heights.

It’s the same thing with recognition of the Golan. Look, the Israeli claims in the Golan are not something to be ignored. They have a lot to do with legitimate security interests. But when we did that, we were doing something that could have been part of a negotiated package, and instead we just gave it away.

Gave it away? Gave it away!! I shouldn’t have to tell
Lieutenant Buttigieg this, but the United States didn’t give anything away. The Golan Heights isn’t ours to give. It was captured from the Syrians in 1967, and again paid for in 1973, with the blood of Avigdor Ben-Gal and his 7th Brigade Troopers. Of course, the boy mayor and sometime Naval Lieutenant wasn’t even born when the Israelis defeated an attacking Syrian Force that outnumbered them by over five to one. So it’s not surprising that he speaks on a subject he obviously has no familiarity with. Perhaps he should put a note or two about Yom Kippur War in his Wheel Book**

Mike Ford, a retired Infantry Officer, writes on Military, Foreign Affairs and occasionally dabbles in Political and Economic matters.

Follow him on Twitter: @MikeFor10394583

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**Notebook of important information required to be carried by aspiring U.S. Navy Petty Officers and Junior Officers.