There’s been a lot of bashing of Israel over its attack which resulted in the deaths of the Gaza aid activists. Many here rightly question the value of America’s continued unmitigated support for an ally that bombs civilians in the Gaza strip, starves them, denies them essential medical supplies and has destroyed their economy in the interest of — well, of what I’m not sure.
Eliminating Hamas? Hamas seems to be, if not thriving, continuing to maintain its authority. Indeed, US mediated private talks between the Israelis and the Palestinian Authority are now on indefinite hold, which I imagine only strengthens Hamas’ position that they should have a seat at the table.
Was Israel playing the “crazy Nixon” card to make its enemies quiver in fear? Seems all it has done is cause great animosity between Israel and one of the few Islamic nations in the region that had remained friendly or at least neutral toward it (Turkey).
At the same time this “action” seems only to have increased tensions between Israel and Iran. Iran is one of the few states with the means (not as vast as our right wing brethren think, but means nonetheless) to produce enriched uranium that might be used in the future to produce nuclear weapons mounted on ballistic missiles that could strike Israel. And if Iran gets nukes, its Katy bar the door time in the Middle east as every Arab Sunni state in the region would likely engage in a nuclear arms race.
Israel having nukes is one thing which the large Sunni Arab states have tolerated since Israel has done nothing to harm their economies nor the authority of their governments. However, a rival Islamic state governed by religious political figures the Sunni dominated nations believe are heretics out to undermine their authority in the Islamic world is something else entirely. Nuclear proliferation on that order would certainly not be a benefit for either Israel, the United States or the rest of the world in general.
Perhaps Israel is looking for a justification to attack Iran, fight another war in Gaza to attempt to destroy Hamas, or attack Hezbollah in southern Lebanon? After all when everyone really is against you (even the Wall Street Journal agrees on that point). Nothing rallies your country’s citizens round the flag better than making everyone hate you.
Of course, a war in the Middle East involving Israel and anyone at this time would be disastrous for the United States and (if the attack was on Iran) the world economy. Oil prices would skyrocket on speculation alone, and the threat of Fundamentalist Islamic terrorist attacks against the United States at home or abroad would also likely increase dramatically.
So, what, if anything is the United States getting for our “friendship” with Israel? Well, I did find one benefit and here it is:
WASHINGTON — A former U.S. ambassador aboard a Gaza aid ship seized by Israeli commandos is on his way home, his wife said Monday evening.
Edward Peck, 81, of Chevy Chase, Md., a Washington suburb, was among activists in the flotilla trying to get humanitarian aid to Gaza, Ann Peck said in a phone interview with The Associated Press.
She said she received a brief e-mail from Israel’s foreign ministry on Monday informing her that her husband was fine and headed home. The e-mail said he would likely arrive Tuesday, didn’t have a cell phone with him and would call from a New York airport when he landed, she said, adding that it didn’t say which airport.
That’s right. Our government can still pull strings to get an 81 year old ambassador released from Israel’s “protective custody.” Mind you, it didn’t help a younger American activist in Gaza whom the Israeli forces literally bulldozed to death, nor did it help the American sailors who died or were wounded on the USS Liberty in 1967 by Israel’s unprovoked attack on that ship, but at least our formerly important political figures are safe in Israel’s hands.
That’s a comforting thought, I’m sure for any of our former political bigwigs who ever find themselves detained in Israel. For other people, not so much:
A day after Israeli commandoes raided an aid flotilla seeking to breach the blockade of Gaza, Israel held hundreds of activists seized aboard the convoy on Tuesday as news reports said activists may be planning a fresh attempt to ferry supplies to the Hamas-run enclave.
Now, admittedly, Israel was viewed by past American governments as a valuable ally during the Cold War with the former Soviet Union. They provided America with the military bases and muscle to guard our interests in the Middle East’s oil reserves, much as the Shah of Iran did before he was overthrown. Heck, that;s why Donny Rumsfeld was so chummy with Saddam Hussein after the Shah was deposed, remember?
But those days are over. The question remains, strictly from a geopolitical standpoint, what value does Israel provide to the United States? I suggest not much. Sure, we get the benefit of whatever intelligence they choose to share with us (assuming that intelligence is accurate, which is a big assumption these days).
But in all other respects Israel is viewed around the word as a pariah nation. Our continued support for its actions seem evermore inexplicable, and continues to fuel anger among the common people of Arab and Islamic countries around the world, much as our wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have done.
Some have claimed that this is merely antisemitism in disguise from the Left. I would argue that is a misguided and dangerous assumption to make. What I and others are arguing is that our support of Israel’s actions regardless of what their consequences has become a political and moral liability for America. I believe that the State of Israel deserves to exist. I believe Israel is entitled to secure borders.
However, the current policies Israel’s governments have pursued of wars, military action, territorial expansion, and the slow genocide of the Palestinian people in the Gaza strip through this blockade can arguably be viewed as crimes against humanity fueled by racism. The truth of the matter is that Israel’s neighbors and the Palestinians have suffered far more than Israel from the ongoing pattern of maintaining and even exacerbating Israel’s conflicts with those around it.
One has to ask who benefits from Israel’s policies? Certainly the right wing parties in Israel and the extremist political groups in the Palestinian territories and Lebanon, both of whom can use the conflict to justify their actions and their authority. And it benefits arms manufacturers and dealers around the world. Wars and the preparation for wars are always good for their business.
It also benefits the more extreme governments in the Middle East, such as Iran and Syria while undercutting the authority of more moderate regimes in Turkey, Egypt and other countries who would prefer that the problem simply go away. Ranting and raving about Israeli atrocities and the threat of Israeli military action inflames the crowds and keeps the focus off internal dissent.
It also advances the careers of those (e.g., President Ahmadinejad) who would prefer to arm their nations with the most destructive weapons on the planet. In short, Israel’s increasingly hostile and deadly actions have helped tear apart efforts to make the Middle east a nuclear free zone.
Who knows, maybe that was the intention all along.
But let me remind people of a little history. Wars and territorial expansion and the subjugation of occupied peoples and nuclear weapons are no guaranty of security. Quite the contrary. History has shown us that eventually nations that pursue military aggression as their primary means of “diplomacy” end up with less security and ultimately create far greater harm to their own countries (see, for example, America in Vietnam, the Soviet Union in Afghanistan and of course Japan and Germany in WWII).
Wars breed more wars, because the survivors of those who are slaughtered in war, the nations who lose those wars, always want revenge. It may not come today, or next week or even in the next few years. But eventually history shows us that a day of reckoning will come. Israel is sowing the ground for its own future destruction, and our continued support of their aggressive actions only brings that day of reckoning closer for both them and for us.
