We Are Entering A Phase Of 'Strategic Decisions'

U.S. President Barack Obama with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Oval Office in Washington, May 20, 2011. Photo by Reuters

A Trip Report From Israel: 'We Have Entered The Phase Of Strategic Decisions' -- John Hannah, Shadow Government/Foreign Policy

I recently returned from a trip to Israel. I met with a handful of very senior foreign policy and defense officials, but did not speak with any member of the "Forum of Eight" -- Israel's security cabinet that is responsible for key decisions concerning war and peace. With that important caveat, I thought I'd share several random impressions:

First, Israelis realize full well that they're in the middle of a geo-political hurricane. The pillars that have anchored their national security strategy for a generation are being washed away, swamped by a rising tide of Islamism.

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My Comment: A sobering and well thought essay. This is a must read on understanding what are Israel's strategic policy goals and objectives.

Is Israel Alone?

Go-It-Alone Outlook Now Shapes Israel's Security Policy -- L.A. Times

Its get-tough approach with the Palestinians, and now with Iran, is lauded by some. Others warn that Israel's foreign policy will come back to haunt it.

JERUSALEM — The traditional Passover retelling of Exodus was barely underway in 2002 when Defense Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer got a note with news of the latest in a string of Palestinian suicide attacks that had terrorized Israel for two years.

He dashed to an emergency meeting of military commanders, all dressed in civilian clothes because they'd left their own Seder dinner tables upon hearing that 30 Israelis had been killed in the attack on the Park Hotel.

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My Comment: As long as I can remember .... Israel has always seen themselves alone .... even when they have received (and are receiving) continuous and considerable support from Western allies. A mindset that probably explains why the decision to do this was met with little opposition within Israel .... but a considerable amount outside.

Israel's Old Alliances Are Crumbling

Israel Watches Its Old Alliances Crumble -- The Telegraph

The overthrow of President Mubarak in Egypt, the estrangement of Turkey and a UN vote on Palestinian statehood combine to make an intractable set of problems.

Secluded in an emergency operations bunker, long after darkness had fallen to mark the start of the Sabbath last Friday, Israel’s most powerful men had become convinced that history was about to repeat itself.

Hundreds of miles away, six intelligence officers, detailed to protect Israel’s embassy in Cairo, had barricaded themselves in the building’s strongroom. A mob of hammer-wielding Egyptians were closing in. The rioters had already broken down two of the strongroom’s doors and were now hammering on the third. Three of the Israelis drew their guns, preparing for a last stand.

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Update #1: U.S. Scrambles to Ease Tension as Israel's Ties With Allies Erode -- FOX News
Update #2: Israel Fears Complete Isolation -- Spiegel Online

My Comment: Israel has always been isolated .... and what temporary alliances it had was with leaders whose own positions (we now know through hindsight) were precarious at best.

Palestine v. Nuclear Iran: Quid Pro Quo For Israel? -- A Commentary

From Captain's Quarters:

Rahm Emanuel’s ego is writing checks that our bank account can’t cash.

Thwarting Iran’s nuclear program is conditional on progress in peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians, according to White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel. Israeli TV reports said Monday that Emanuel made the comments in a closed-door meeting the previous day with 300 major AIPAC donors.

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Israel’s Biggest Danger -- A Commentary

From Newsweek:

Today they're 20 percent of the country's population. Demographers predict they'll be 25 percent by 2025.

Even before a new coalition could emerge, Israel's latest election was historic. It marked the collapse of Labor, the party that can plausibly claim to have founded Israel and produced its most celebrated prime ministers, from David Ben-Gurion (as head of Labor's predecessor, Mapai), through Golda Meir to Yitzhak Rabin. The last vestige of old Labor is Shimon Peres, who—with fitting irony—is the country's president only because he quit the party. Israel's political spectrum is now dominated by three right-wing groups: Likud, Kadima (the Likud offshoot founded by Ariel Sharon) and Yisrael Beytenu, a party of Russian immigrants. But while most commentators focus on the future of the peace process and the two-state solution, a deeper and more existential question is growing within the heart of Israel.

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