Continuing War for the Sake of War the Sake of Empires

Submitted by M Tovey (United States), Jun 9, 2021 at 11:32

Continuing the conundrum; wartime standing appears to suit the Arab frame of mind (at least for the antagonists that live for the rage); as long as they think they are victors (in their delusions of grandeur).
This is, and has been, a long running theme as the good Doctor points out twenty years ago, in the past, this time in February 2001, noted above.
Here, an excerpt:
[Consider some examples:

Suez crisis, 1956: Egypt's president Gamal Abdel Nasser suffered a humiliating military rout at the hands of the British, French and Israelis, but insisted on having won a victory. He was widely believed. As a result, this episode "strengthened him politically and morally," writes the University of Maryland's Shukri Abed, helping Nasser become the dominant figure of Arab politics.

Six Day War, 1967: Catastrophic defeat at Israel's hands prompted Nasser to offer his resignation, but Egyptians responded with massive street demonstrations calling on him to stay in power (he did). Syria's defense minister in 1967, Hafez Assad, went on to become president of his country.

Battle of Karama, 1968: Yasir Arafat's Fatah lost its first major armed confrontation with the Israelis, but claimed victory.

Yom Kippur War, 1973: Israeli forces may have beaten the Egyptians and Syrians, but the latters' governments again portrayed the war as a great triumph.

Siege of Beirut, 1982: Arafat transformed a humiliating retreat from Beirut into political victory, emphasizing that the Israelis needed 88 days to defeat him, far longer than it took them to defeat other Arab forces.

Today, those events are remembered as a glorious victory. For example, Hamas recounted a few years later that the Palestinians in 1982 "humiliated" Israel and "broke its resolve."]

Broke the resolve (?): hardly. Yet the delusions recur, like a bad nightmare that seemingly won't stop.

And now, as ahs been intimated, with the loss of resolve from the American 46th Administration and its feckless foreign relations (watch the Bolshoi theater and American intrigue now in action), expect a new wave of emboldened actions in the Middle East; we need not worry if the Russian are coming, Russians are coming in the Middle East - thanks to the predecessor 44th Administration, they're already here; a victory for the 'Palestinians.' And the war continues........

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