Israel is the most important and the staunchest ally that we have in the Middle East, there are no two ways about it. Our current administration's flirtations with Iran notwithstanding, without Israel to provide a deterrent, Middle East would be even a bigger mess than it is, if you can imagine it!
An editorial in this morning's paper explained our relationship with Middle Eastern countries by pointing out that the Iran Hostage Crisis in which 52 of our diplomats were held as hostages for 444 days was not as bad or serious as the 1973 Oil Crisis that was created by OPEC, lead by Saudi Arabia! In other words, Saudi Arabia's price gouging was more serious than Iran's act of holding our diplomats hostage! Its not hard to see where that writer's priorities are, obviously it is more important to keep his car running with cheaper gas prices than protecting the lives of our diplomats! It was such a weak and shallow attempt at justifying our nuclear "deal" with Iran that supposedly had been negotiated that it is laughable.
You will note that I said "supposedly" negotiated. What we think or how we perceive things aren't seen or thought of the same way by Iranians. It is not easy to penetrate, to understand the workings of a Middle Eastern mind. It may sound like a cliché, but it is true! So, what we think we had agreed on is not necessarily what the Iranians think that they agreed upon. Most none Middle Eastern and none Islamic cultures have a very difficult time understanding, agreeing, or having a meeting of minds with that part of the world. Israel is an exception, because Israel is a part of the Middle East and can truly understand the way the Arab mind works. They certainly have had enough time to learn, something like a couple of thousand years! Yet Israel is also a part of the West, with its educational system and life style that is similar to Europe or America.
We should pay heed to what Israel says. Of course Israel has its own best interest in mind, and will put forth what serves them best. But nevertheless, they know and understand their neighbors better than we can ever hope to do so. To ignore Israel's warnings and advice is indeed foolhardy. But, we have always had people in power who thought they knew better than anyone else. That's what happened during Vietnam, during Carter Administration with his Georgia Mafia, and it has continued to this day!
We share intelligence with Israel, and some of the best (if not the only good stuff) intelligence that we get on Middle Eastern countries is what we get from Israel! Before the ground war took place in the first Gulf War, we asked the Israelis to brief us on Saddam Hussein's forces and other aspects of his defenses. Israeli Special Forces, Sayeret Matkal, officers came to Fort Bragg, North Carolina and briefed our Special Forces on the disposition of Saddam's Republican Guard and other units. Their briefing allowed us to have pretty good knowledge of what to expect and how to avoid any pitfalls. Our own intelligence was unable to provide that kind of information, but Israelis could! When the ground war began, it was literally a "cake walk" for our forces! Israelis truly know their neighbors, their enemies.
Israelis had warned us that the most difficult part would not be defeating Iraqi forces, the most difficult part would be the aftermath. After we defeat their forces, that is when the real problems would begin. Israel had plenty of experience dealing with Arabs in occupied territory. They have been fighting insurgents (Hamas or Hezbollah) in occupied areas of Lebanon or Palestine ever since they took the territory! Wisely, in the First Gulf War, we refrained from occupying any territory. The second time, Iraqi Freedom, we occupied Iraq and look what it has created!
One of the main problems that we have is that our civilian leadership seems to be totally lacking in experience and understanding of what war is all about. The president appears to be surrounded by a bunch of brainy people who seem to think that wars are fought like video games! It has reached a point where Vietnam veterans are mostly too old to serve in the government. There may still be a few, like John McCain, but they are now looked upon as relics of the past.
There may be a handful of Gulf War veterans, but not to take anything away from them, the first Gulf War only lasted a couple of months, the ground war even less than that. The amount of experience that you can gain in that period is not the same as spending a year in combat or for the duration as in case of Korea and World War Two. There are too few veterans of current wars to make an impact. In short, we are lacking in combat experience among our top civilian leaders and advisors. The president himself does not necessarily need combat experience, although it would help. But he must be surrounded by advisors who are at least knowledgeable about war! Yes I know, John Kerry is a Vietnam veteran, I remember very well when he "threw away" his medals in protest before TV cameras! But Kerry is about the only Vietnam Vet who is close to the president, and he is a phony!
In contrast, Israeli leadership, since its beginning in 1948 with David Ben-Gurion, has consisted of those who were veterans of either the War of Independence (Ben-Gurion was the leader during that period) or had actually served in the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) which was created after the independence. Most of the older leaders like former Prime Ministers Shimon Peres, Yitzak Rabin and Menachem Begin fought in the War of Independence with either Haganah or Irgun, the two guerrilla organizations that were absorbed into IDF after the independence. Golda Meir, the only woman Prime Minister was very active and served with the underground movement during the War of Independence and before! The younger ones all had served, and with distinction, in IDF during one of the many Arab-Israeli Wars! Ehud Barak was the most highly decorated soldier in IDF!
Benjamin Netanyahu, the current Prime Minister who appears to have a rocky relationship with Washington is a seasoned combat veteran who was wounded in battle. He served with IDF Special Forces, Sayeret Matkal in both the Six Day War and the Yom Kippur War. He is also a graduate of MIT with a BS and MS and served as Israel's Ambassador to the U.S. before becoming the Prime Minister the first time. So you can see that Benjamin Netyanyahu does understand America and Americans! Can't say the same thing about our leaders and their knowledge and understanding of Israel!
Netanyahu's older brother, Jonathan (Yonatan), was also with IDF's Sayeret Matkal and he was killed during the raid on Entebbe to rescue Israeli hostages from Uganda in 1976. Had he survived, he probably would have served in politics like his younger brother. By the way, Jonathan, who was born in New York, had trained with the U.S. Army Special Forces and studied at Harvard.
But Washington turns a deaf ear to Benjamin Netanyahu's warnings, and our media makes him out to be a war mongering Arab hater. Obviously folks in Washington know and understand the Middle East and the Arab world better than Netanyahu.
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