In 1975, the US disengagement from Vietnam fulfilled the goal of the Viet Cong, thus ending the US-Vietnam conflict. In 2021, the US disengagement from Afghanistan advances – but does not fulfill – the goal of the Taliban and Al Qaeda, and therefore does not end the conflict between the…
Disengagement from the Middle East? The Middle East is situated between Europe, Asia and Africa, and between the Mediterranean, Red Sea, Indian Ocean, Arabian Sea and the Persian Gulf. President Biden wishes to disengage from the Middle East, but the Middle East does not intend to disengage from the US.…
The Two-state Solution “President Biden underscored his strong commitment to a negotiated two-state solution as the best path to reach a just and lasting resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.” “US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that Washington backed a two-state solution to resolve the conflict between Israel and the…
US policy-makers who are negotiating a return to the 2015 Iran nuclear accord (JCPOA), should be aware that the most effective predictor of Iran’s future behavior is its past behavior. Past performance – especially in the highly traditional Middle East – is a tangible and objective basis of assessment, while…
Pre-1967 In 1948, the CIA opposed the reestablishment of the Jewish State, contending that it would be a feeble entity, unable to withstand an all-out Arab war – which would yield a second Holocaust in less than ten years – fully dependent on US soldiers for its survival, jeopardize US…
Iron Dome benefits the US The remarkable performance the US-Israel jointly-produced Iron Dome mobile, all-weather, anti-missile defense system – during the May 2021 Gaza war against Hamas terrorists – was another milestone in the mutually-beneficial US-Israel alliance in the face of mutual terrorist threats and in the pursuit of cutting-edge…
Secretary of State Antony Blinken keeps advising Israel to retreat from the mountain ridges of Judea and Samaria (the West Bank), lest it lose its Jewish majority. Secretary Blinken is wrong, relying on highly-inflated, erroneous Palestinian Authority numbers, ignoring the dramatic Westernization of Arab demography, and overlooking the unprecedent Jewish…
Hamas and war on terrorism All pro-US Arab regimes – such as Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Oman, Morocco and Sudan – have refrained from tangible support of Hamas, which is a branch of the Muslim Brotherhood. The latter constitutes an existential threat to each pro-US Arab…
Secretary of State Antony Blinken keeps advising Israel to retreat from the mountain ridges of Judea and Samaria (the West Bank), lest it lose its Jewish majority. Secretary Blinken is wrong, relying on highly-inflated, erroneous Palestinian Authority numbers, ignoring the dramatic Westernization of Arab demography, and overlooking the unprecedent Jewish…
Jordan’s domestic vulnerability Jordan’s domestic upheaval involved some Arab countries, members of the royal Jordanian family and other prominent Bedouins, who were arrested and charged with an attempted regime change. A regime-change in Jordan could transform the strategically-located country – between Syria, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Israel – into another…
It has been suggested that the next Prime Minister of Israel will be proscribed from annexing parts of Judea and Samaria – for the next three years – due to Prime Minister Netanyahu’s personal commitment to President Trump to refrain from annexation. This ostensible commitment was never ratified by Israel’s…
Track record Avril Haines is a staunch advocate for military and counter-terrorism restraint, and a determined proponent of a major role for international law and human rights in the conduct of national security policy. She will assume a Cabinet level position in the Biden administration, coordinating the work of the 17 US intelligence agencies, and…