You've outlined how events under Trump might have been different after the attack. But not how Hamas' pre-attack choices would have been different.

Yes. But you've forgotten something very crucial that does involve us.

Which President was it that got the momentum going with respect to the Israelis normalizing ties with many powers in the Middle East? That would be Trump. The other thing you're forgetting is Biden's desire to broker the Obama-era nuclear deal with Iran as well as Iran's perpetual links to and funding of Hezbollah and others.

Biden pivoted the US' middle east strategy towards appeasing Iran as opposed to Trump's method of isolating the mullahs. Bad actors immediately picked up on the lack of the US' pushing for more Abraham-like accords as an opportunity to act in the new envrionment...and have.

Do you think it's a coincidence that Hamas does this at the same time Houthi rebels openly attack ships with Iran's help? Or that Hezbollah has been steadily ramping up its activities in southern Lebanon?

Under Trump the Palestinians were being IGNORED until they started acting like adults...which they never did. Under Biden he would have pushed a 2 state deal as well as appeased their silent partners the Iranians no matter what Hamas would do.

And that's exactly as it turned out. Trump's method of squeezing Iran and aligning their natural adversaries the Saudis, Jordanians and Kuwaitis with Israel against the common cause was working. Biden's weakness has set that back a decade, maybe longer.

Is everything about us? No, and no one claims that. But it's folly to say that the absence of US resolve and leadership have no effect.