Cook thus wonders "who controls American foreign policy? Does the dog wag the tail or the opposite given the power of Israel to influence policy? One camp argues the former with distinguished figures like Noam Chomsky believing Washington has a "consistent, predictable and monolithic view of American interests abroad" and how best to secure them.
How to explain Iraq then since the administration rejected the advice of many of its key policy advisors, including what Big Oil wanted. Instead, it opted for a messy "regime overthrow," not a simpler "regime change" that worked well in the past without war and occupation. In addition, attacking Iran guarantees regional turmoil, greater instability, regimes likely toppling, intensified Iraq conflict targeting Americans, higher oil prices, possible world recession, and no assurance of a favorable outcome.
Why risk it when Iran sought dialogue for years, but Washington consistently refuses. Cook cites two US academics, John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt and might have included James Petras' work and his powerfully important book titled "The Power of Israel in the United States." This writer reviewed it in-depth and was greatly struck by its persuasive content. It documents the Lobby's depth and breath at the highest levels of government, throughout Congress, business boardrooms, academia, the clergy (especially dominant Christian fundamentalists) and the mass media. Together they assure full and unconditional support for most Israeli interests most of the time going back decades. Wars included - in the Occupied Territories, against Lebanon, the Gulf War, the current Iraq war as well as all Israeli wars since 1967 and the prospect of engaging Iran and Syria despite strong opposition at home.
Cook presents his own view saying "the dog and tail wag each other," and that's Israel's strategy by making both countries dependent on the other for dominance in and outside the region. He believes Israel persuaded administration neocons that both countries shared mutual goals. It worked because it placed US interests of global domination and controlling oil at the heart of strategy.
Consider also a long-standing "special relationship" between the two countries going back decades. Senate Foreign Relations Committee private meeting transcripts before and after the 1967 war reveal it. They explain, early on, that Washington valued Israel as a strategic ally in a vitally important part of the world. Aside from oil, the Johnson administration called Israel a useful Cold War asset at a time Russia courted leading Arab states and made progress. Its regional wars were also helpful to confront the kind of nationalist threat Egypt's Nasser represented. They split regional states into irreconcilable camps - weak Gulf ones like the Saudis needing US protection; stronger regimes in Egypt, Jordan and Iran under the Shah; and outliers like Syria, Libya, Iraq and Iran after 1979.
Cook recounts Ariel Sharon's vision of empire as a regional superpower in an early 1980s speech he never made. He radically departed from Israel's traditional strategy of either seeking peace or directly confronting hostile neighbors. His new thinking was to extend Tel Aviv's influence to the whole region by achieving qualitative and technological weapons superiority.
Sharon was a seasoned general, his views were respected, and he greatly influenced younger officers who rose in prominence and, in the case of Ehud Barak, became Prime Minister like himself. He believed Israel should impose its dictates and force other regional states to comply or be punished.
The "Sharon Doctrine," as its called, also reflected the views National Security Adviser, General Uzi Dayan, and Mossad head, Ephraim Halevy stated in December 2001. They called 9/11 a "Hannukkah miracle" because it gave Israel a chance to marginalize and confront its enemies. Henceforth, all "Islamic terror" elements could be grouped together as threats to the region's rulers. Confronting it was crucial, so after Afghanistan Iraq, Iran and Syria were next "as soon as possible." It was Dick Cheney's vision of permanent "war that won't end in our lifetimes."
In 1982, Israeli journalist and former Foreign Affairs Ministry senior advisor, Oded Yinon, proposed an even more radical idea. Like Sharon, he advocated transforming Israel into a regional power with an added goal: breaking up Arab states into ethnic and confessional groupings that Israel could more easily control. Similar to Huntington's "clash of civilizations," Yinon suggested we were witnessing cataclysmic times, the "collapse of the world order," and he identified the threat: "The strength, dimension, accuracy and quality of nuclear and non-nuclear weapons will overturn most of the world in a few years." He believed an age of terror emerged that would challenge Israel with growing Arab militancy.
His remedy - install minority population leaders who are dependent on colonial powers even after nominal independence. It worked in Lebanon under the Maronites, in Syria under the Alawis, and in Jordan under Hashemite monarchs. Yinon believed these states were weak, as were oil-rich ones, could be easily dissolved, and doing it was key to forcibly displacing Palestinians from the Territories and inside Israel. Furthermore, achieving dominance depended on dissolving Arab states so Israel would be unchallengeable and able to complete its ethnic cleansing process.
Remaking the Middle East
After the Soviet Russia dissolved, Israel's military had to convince Washington it could be useful in a post-Cold War world. Would it be a bullying enforcer or a regional guarantor of US and Israeli dominance by sowing disorder and instability? In the 1990s, "two new kinds of Middle Eastern political and paramilitary actors" emerged - Sunni jihadis called Al-Queda and elements like the Taliban in Afghanistan and Hezbollah in south Lebanon. They represent formidable challenges that aren't easily intimidated or bullied.
In this type world, threats are at a sub-state level, so Yinon's scheme was appealing - encourage discord and feuding within nations, destabilize them, and arrange their dismemberment into mini-states. Tribes and sectarian elements could be turned on each other, and alliances with non-Arab, non-Muslim groups like Christians, Kurds and Druze could be cultivated to advantage.
One problem remains, however - the possibility that another Middle East state may develop nuclear weapons, challenge Israel's dominance and get away with it. Nonetheless, Israel planned "organized chaos" across the region and convinced administration neocons the scheme was sensible. They had every reason to approve, and powerful opposition at home aside, they're destabilizing the region along with Israel. There's no guaranteed outcome, the subsequent fallout is unpredictable, but consider the possibilities. The administration is quite able to vaporize Iran and Syria and end the homeland republic if that's the plan. It's also what other states have to fear.
Cook considers why Israel and Washington chose this agenda despite the risks:
-- by controlling Iran and Iraq, oil production can be increased and prices brought down to a desired level;
I am a 72 year old, retired, progressive small businessman concerned about all the major national and world issues, committed to speak out and write about them.
Jonathan Cook's analysis is a TEXT BOOK lesson which should be taught at schools and colleges all across the Middle East. Bits and pieces of his observations are obvious to those of all ages who see, think and analyse. Most, however, do not know what to do about it because of apathy or the extremely limited opportunities available to them in the police states they live in BUT South Lebanese, Gazans and Iranians are providing examples. Like it or not for the US and Israel what is emerging and will continue to grow will definitely not be palatable to both. Enough is enough!
by
syed mahdi (1 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 125 comments)
on Tuesday, February 5, 2008 at 2:11:32 AM
2 comments
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