The president answered, "We can take care of both of these and still maintain our overall international defense. We have the capacity to do this, and we have an obligation to."

In a Sky News interview released Monday, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen gave a similar answer when asked whether the US could afford to fund another war at this time: "I think the answer is absolutely. America can certainly afford to stand with Israel and to support Israel's military needs. And we also can and must support Ukraine in its struggle against Russia."

This is not true. To see why, we need to understand the military goals of Washington's allies in each conflict.

Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, the chief spokesman for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), said Saturday that Israel's goal in Gaza is "the rout of Hamas and the elimination of its leaders after the slaughter they perpetrated."

The first phase involved cutting off food, water, and energy to Gaza and pummeling the strip with airstrikes while Israeli forces mobilized. Now the IDF are "in formation" for a ground invasion of Gaza City. Last Friday, Israel told the 1.1 million people living in northern Gaza to leave their homes and move to the southern half of the territory.

So, it appears that the plan is to send the army into Gaza City with the goal not merely to prevent Hamas from carrying out more attacks but to overwhelmingly defeat it as a movement and kill or capture its leadership.