22 March 2015

The US-Israeli Dynamic: The Concerns of a Worldwide Empire and the Aspirations of a Regional Hegemon

Margolis doesn't mince words in his latest commentary. It is amazing how despite the chaos resulting from the destruction of Iraq, despite the anti-Al Qaeda/anti- USA sentiments of the Arab Spring, as the dust starts to settle, it's still the USA and Israel dominating the Middle East. It's grown even more messy than usual but the masters have not been dethroned.

Iran benefitted from Bush's invasion disaster but now the manufactured drop in oil prices is devastating the enemies of America and started to change the dynamic once again.

The old tension between US and Israeli administrations is hyped right now. It comes and goes. Things were pretty bad under Yitzhak Shamir and I'm sure Obama's advisors had that episode in mind with regard to Netanyahu. Shamir had been irritating the US for some time with his policies and he resisted peace talks to be held in Spain. The first Bush administration put financial pressure on him, he gave in and it led to the collapse of his government and a call for elections.

Obama has proven unskillful in this regard and Netanyahu with his Republican allies has mopped the floor with him.

We'll see what happens in the remaining two years of Obama's presidency.

There's been a long debate over who controls whom... do the Israeli's give the orders or does the United States? I think that's an oversimplification of a dynamic situation. The relationship ebbs and flows, there are many facets to modern power, and the situation constantly changes. There are economics, political timetables, opposition parties, and many other factors which shape the situation. The current formula just happens to be a particularly bad one. Obama is not the Leftist appeaser he's made out to be. He's proven quite bloody and militant but he's also trying to fix a couple of ongoing geopolitical situations that have proven dead ends. There's a chance to shift, allowing Obama and many planners to do what they really want and that's move toward the Far East. Solving the Cuba problem and the longstanding tension with Iran would go a long way toward helping this. The situation with Iran is at a unique moment. The Middle Eastern situation is such that there's actually a chance in brokering a deal and its being sabotaged by the Israelis and the American war machine.

The Iranians have every reason to hate and distrust the United States and there's been a long simmering low-grade war between the nations. In terms of the diplomacy it's all smoke and mirrors when it comes to the Western media. They won't address or even cover the real issues at stake! Nuclear Proliferation? What about Israel and their cache of undeclared nuclear arms... not to mention the fact that it's pretty much common knowledge that they were seriously considering using them in 1973?

Many would point to the acquisition of nuclear weapons as an example of Israel's independence and self-determination apart from the United States. Initially it was not the US, but the French who were helping Israel. And when de Gaulle came into power and subsequently US-French relations turned sour (as well as Franco-Israeli relations) the Israelis were aided by the British but later became close allies and true comrades with... irony of ironies racist Apartheid South Africa who was also a close ally and proxy for the United States.

The debate is whether the CIA orchestrated and arranged these relationships including the Israel's supply of uranium and plutonium, or did Israel indeed chart their own course in defiance of Washington? There's the official history, then there's the CIA which acting in the role of Praetorian Guard has long charted its own path.

After 1989 the chessboard was rearranged and yet there are still these lingering issues. Obama's administration has tried desperately to clear the board once more and turn away from the Middle Eastern project of the 1990s and 2000s. Obama and many others in power see the new (and sad to say, desired) Cold War taking place in the Pacific theatre but to shift East they have to wrap up and pacify the complicated situation in the Middle East. A deal with Iran could go a long way toward solving the problems in Iraq and Syria as well as the ongoing tensions in the Persian Gulf... and ultimately even the disaster occurring in Yemen.

One person stands in the way and that's Benjamin Netanyahu and his allies within the American Right.

It may seem ironic to some, but Likud has transformed itself into a militant, nationalist and racist party with expansionist aims. We don't need to be afraid to label it for what it is... fascist. And therefore it is no surprise at all that his heaviest support comes from the likeminded Christian Right which for geopolitical, ideological and in many cases theological reasons shares Netanyahu's vision.

This is not to suggest that Netanyahu is a reincarnation of Hitler or Mussolini or that he represents that level of threat. Yet there are many pertinent and relevant analogies. Even the settlement mentality and the accompanying policies are reminiscent of Hitler's Lebensraum.

History is stranger than fiction. If you made this stuff up, it would be deemed incredible. I contend what happened in 1930's Europe was foreseeable and in line with the general trend of the 19th century. The extremist manifestation/reaction of Fascism was generated by crisis. That's a lesson pertinent to Israel's power regarding the Middle East and for the people of the United States. For those that think it could never happen here would do well to think again. I personally know many Christians who I am convinced that if living in 1930's Germany would have been zealous promoters of the Third Reich.

Here's the Margolis article: