It is clear, says veteran Middle East journalist and author, Paul McGeough, that Israeli PM Netannyahu just doesn't get it. Yes, the GOP in the US Congress, childishly, jumped to their feet 26 times to applaud
Netanyahu as he addressed them, but that is no more than theatre and political play by the GOP and the Israeli PM.
"The Middle East is catching up with its last century – the 2015 of Obama and Netanyahu is not the 1916 of Sykes and Picot; the 1948 of the founding of Israel, the 1967 of the Six-Day War, the 1973 of the world oil shock or the 1979 of the Islamic Revolution.
Washington's place in the world – and in the region – is very different. The Cold War is gone and the grind of nuclear tension with Moscow is so yesterday. Obama wants to pivot to Asia.
US and world dependence on Arab fossil fuel is not what it was and most of the Arab regimes have become trusted allies of the West – especially in the context of the crisis brought on by the so-called Islamic State. All are allowed to get on with their human rights abuse excesses, they are sold weapons worth billions and that thing called the Middle East peace process goes precisely nowhere – and nobody seems to mind.
But defined by recent upheaval in the region, perhaps the greatest change, reluctant as it has been, is a changing US perception of Iran and its people."
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"Amidst all this regional change, the reality of Israel too is changing – in itself and in its relations with the world.
Netanyahu harks back to Washington's role as the first to recognise the new state of Israel in 1948. Recalling a small country with a huge and convincing argument, The Washington Post's Richard Cohen observes: "He harkens back not only to a different America, but also to a different Israel – [in 1948] it was not yet an occupation power; it did not mistreat the Palestinians."
And in the context of what Washington needs in the region, as opposed to what the US might like or admire, Cohen adds: "The fact is that the US doesn't need Israel."
See also "Benjamin Netanyahu’s Fantasy World" on Tikkun.
Netanyahu as he addressed them, but that is no more than theatre and political play by the GOP and the Israeli PM.
"The Middle East is catching up with its last century – the 2015 of Obama and Netanyahu is not the 1916 of Sykes and Picot; the 1948 of the founding of Israel, the 1967 of the Six-Day War, the 1973 of the world oil shock or the 1979 of the Islamic Revolution.
Washington's place in the world – and in the region – is very different. The Cold War is gone and the grind of nuclear tension with Moscow is so yesterday. Obama wants to pivot to Asia.
US and world dependence on Arab fossil fuel is not what it was and most of the Arab regimes have become trusted allies of the West – especially in the context of the crisis brought on by the so-called Islamic State. All are allowed to get on with their human rights abuse excesses, they are sold weapons worth billions and that thing called the Middle East peace process goes precisely nowhere – and nobody seems to mind.
But defined by recent upheaval in the region, perhaps the greatest change, reluctant as it has been, is a changing US perception of Iran and its people."
****
"Amidst all this regional change, the reality of Israel too is changing – in itself and in its relations with the world.
Netanyahu harks back to Washington's role as the first to recognise the new state of Israel in 1948. Recalling a small country with a huge and convincing argument, The Washington Post's Richard Cohen observes: "He harkens back not only to a different America, but also to a different Israel – [in 1948] it was not yet an occupation power; it did not mistreat the Palestinians."
And in the context of what Washington needs in the region, as opposed to what the US might like or admire, Cohen adds: "The fact is that the US doesn't need Israel."
See also "Benjamin Netanyahu’s Fantasy World" on Tikkun.
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