Israel's Iron Dome anti-missile system intercepts rockets after Iran fired a salvo of ballistic missiles, on Oct. 1.Amir Cohen/Reuters

The U.S. vice-presidential debate this week opened with a question about whether the United States should support a “pre-emptive strike” by Israel on Iran. It was not a hypothetical question. The prospect of all-out war in the Middle East is suddenly very real, and the U.S.-Israel relationship risks being tested as never before.

After Iran’s Tuesday missile attack on Israel, it was left to the running mates of Democratic nominee Kamala Harris and Republican top-of-ticket Donald Trump to tell American voters how their respective bosses would respond, as pleas for de-escalation in the region were being drowned out by the drumbeats of war.

“Steady leadership is going to matter,” Democratic vice-presidential candidate Tim Walz insisted in an entirely evasive answer. “A nearly 80-year-old Donald Trump talking about crowd sizes is not what we need in this moment.”

GOP vice-presidential nominee J.D. Vance was less evasive, but still left out critical details. “It is up to Israel what they think they need to do to keep their country safe. And we should support our allies wherever they are when they’re fighting the bad guys.”

Just what Israeli........

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