Forecasting the Next Middle East Crisis to be Faced - Isolation of Israel in the Next American Administration

Submitted by M. Tovey (United States), Dec 10, 2008 at 18:48

We are faced with many more problems than possibly thought about America's future in the Middle East, though some have postulated here not all was easily seen when it came to the American political situation with the Middle East, and indeed the world. What Dr. Pipes is presenting here is essentially an outline for someone to list the legacy left behind by President Bush's administration, a sort of pre-press package to start this era's historians on what might be written in President Bush's favor.

To be sure, President Bush's two terms were not the most glamorous years for any presidency. What we do know about him is that he stuck to what he thought was necessary to keep America safer than if he had adopted a more passive approach to protect American's and American interests. Not all of it was politically correct, but no one can say that President Bush seriously considered backing down in spite of the assessment of damages.

But even as we were told that America had the interests of all parties in the Middle East in view as policymaking was executed, we now find there was a fundamental flaw in regards to the single most important political association over there: Israel. Though it was widely believed that many Middle East issues were handled with a decidedly pro-Arab (all that oil, folks) posture, little was it suspected that all was not going according to the best interests of Israel, our supposed best ally. In an interview with President Bush, we can now understand why.

[Interviewer Cynthia McFadden asked Bush if the Bible was literally true. "You know. Probably not…No I'm not a literalist, but I think you can learn a lot from it, but I do think that the New Testament for example is, ….has got…You know, the important lesson is ‘God sent a Son,'" Bush said.]

Anyone with more than a passing understanding of the Biblical worldview necessary to deal with Israel should read the words of President Bush with more than just a little trepidation. America's constant dealings with Israel in the quagmire that is the Middle East can now be understood in the light of this revelation. Attach to that the legacy to be passed on to the president elect, (with the call for President – elect Obama to embrace his Muslim roots and be part of the emerging groundswell to forsake the roots of western society and make Islam the reigning ideology), and we can see that the rest of the world is not ready to wait for America to get its act together.

World alliances that are forming without American participation are multiplying on both hemispheres in spite of America's political and military influences. This can be seen in the Russian attempts to consolidate power, both in the spheres of the former Soviet empire, and here with the socialist governments such as Venezuela and others. On teh other side, the unrest of Pakistan versus India (Mumbai as symptomatic of a more involved political turbulence), Muslim Kosovo striking out for its identity, North Korea's intransigence, Greece falling apart from its own internal turmoil, just to name of few of other world activities that need diplomatic solutions, are all appearing to be falling outside of America's abilities to be of any viable assistance.

Look at Dr. Pipe's list and realize that all of these things have one thing in common: they are not producing any evidence of strong American diplomacy, which should be a force for peace. Instead, looking at the one telling item of pre-emption, we see that, contrary to the ‘right to defend' reaction of Pearl Harbor, the pre-emptive mentality took the eye off the real threats and focused on the presumed threats. In all of that, the real damage occurred, making Israel out as a liability for its attempts to defend itself from its hostile neighbors, indeed from the world. America has lost its creditability. In Israel we find the source of all diplomatic problems America has in the Middle East.

For this reader, the jury is still out on the other items of President Bush's positive legacy. All that can be currently said is that, for the moment, attacks on America soil in the magnitude of the towers have so far been avoided. How much longer remains to be seen.

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