"... a glimpse of a post-American Middle East, where the United States’ allies and foes, brought together in the interests of stability, plot foreign policies that intersect in initiatives the United States must grudgingly accept.
“There is a sense that the regional players have gone up as the United States has gone down in terms of its presence, its viability, its role,” said a high-ranking Lebanese official allied with the American-backed side in the crisis, which erupted last week." Anthony Shadid
-------------------------------------------------------
When US influence in the Middle East declines, Israel's position declines. Maybe some people should think about that. Maybe blind acceptance of political pressure in the US is not such a good idea. pl
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/19/world/middleeast/19lebanon.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
I agree Pat. Wouldn't that be "loverly"...!
Posted by: McGee | 18 January 2011 at 10:01 PM
Sad, but true. I just read the article and came here to see if anybody would bring it up. It seems that the entire region is turning against us. Pat Buchanan wrote similar article a few days ago.
When US influence in the Middle East declines, Israel's position declines. Maybe some people should think about that. Maybe blind acceptance of political pressure in the US is not such a good idea. pl
The pressure will only intensify with out decline, read what my local Congresswoman and current Chairwoman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee thinks is important.
Posted by: Jose | 19 January 2011 at 12:56 AM
I keep going back to the quote from Ron Suskind about his discussion with a member of the Bush team.
"We're an empire now, and when we act, we create our own reality. And while you're studying that reality—judiciously, as you will—we'll act again, creating other new realities, which you can study too, and that's how things will sort out. We're history's actors…and you, all of you, will be left to just study what we do."
Folks who think this way never seem to understand that things fall apart. Nothing lasts forever, certainly not political power.
At one point in history Saddam Hussein could have mouthed close to the same words..as well as Ceacescu or Milosevic....
Someone might want to remind our modern day history's actors there is always a final act.
Posted by: GregB | 19 January 2011 at 01:11 AM
Jose,
Without Zionist $$ backers, she could not get re-elected. $$ and power is the game, she and others within the Congress like her, care little what their constituents think once their election/re-election is over. My question is, why aren't the States prosecuting their Members of the Congress for a host of crimes against the States and their citizenry?
Ahhhh, but they are 'above' the State law[s] in their Congressional minds.
Even if we the American Citizenry are ready for the recognition of a Palestine and a Palestinian flag, until the Zionist money-lenders say go the Members of the Congress on their payrolls, individuals like the Congresswoman will continue applying the red stoplights on her Zionist money-lenders orders.
Posted by: J | 19 January 2011 at 01:40 AM
Everyone in the Middle East knows the US is run by the pro-Israel crowd. Taxi drivers, school children, will say the US is run by Zionists. Simple as that.
The Arab elites don't want problems with the US so have gone along about as much as possible. But they are making adjustments. The masses know the score about the US and about their own leaders.
This article treats the emerging regional actors. We should add China quietly behind the scenes.
From the standpoint of any realistic US strategy, there are four basic considerations in the Middle East: Turkey, the Arab States, Iran, Israel. A sophisticated US policy in the national interest would take this basic situation into consideration. And then there are the extra-regional actors.
But we are wedded the rotting Albatros, Israel and its Zionist Diaspora, in a "strategic alliance."
Jose's point is very well taken and sums up the situation: Congress is controlled by the pro-Israel crowd...period, that is the reality. AIPAC boasts about it and well they should as they have done an excellent job of buying the US Congress.
The rest of the world sees this. A few in the US see this.
In the Arab world, perceptions of the US based on our constructive 19th and early 20th century legacy out that way still raise a few hopes once in a while. "Well maybe the US will come to its senses and behave as it did before 1948"...and so on.
The American culture which produced our early Middle East policy is dead and buried. The "WASP Ascendency" was finished decades ago in US politics and culture. As it did we entered the age of the pro-Israel ascendency with AIPAC and similar orgs at the forefront in politics.
What prevents us from being ourselves as William Carlos Williams called it "in the American grain"? What prevents us from acting based on our historic traditions? Quite simply the political and cultural influence of the pro-Israel crowd.
The Neocons well knew what they were doing in their attack on John Quincy Adams...not to mention their attack on Sherman Kent. As the Frankfurt School intellectuals before them, they know they must nullify the underlying cultural tradition so as to create something "new".
Americans at this point in our history are clueless about the political war going on here and are still more clueless about the cultural war. The two are inextricably related.
Posted by: Clifford Kiracofe | 19 January 2011 at 06:59 AM
Colonel,
Along with a 'post America Mideast', don't we also have to worry about a 'post America America' as well? An America where leadership thumbs its nose at our Constitution/Bill of Rights, and at the very citizenry they've sworn to protect, an America that has moved closer to Police State tactics reminiscent of the Soviet Bloc.
-- One goes to a football or basketball game and one his 'searched'.
-- One wants to fly and see their kids and grand-kids only to be met with TSA/DHS bodily molestation and DNA shredding by TSA/DHS back-scatter scanners that don't make America any safer.
-- One wants to drive to the corner grocery for a gallon of milk only to be met by a police roadblock where everyone is interrogated as if they were a criminal, and their persons and vehicles searched as if they had something to hide.
-- One wants to complain to their elected representation, and is met with mealy-mouthed mumblings excuse makings.
-- One can no longer feel safe in one's own home for fear that their home will be erroneously targeted by overzealous nitwits that have let their badges/authority and sidearms go to their heads.
News article after news article has documented all the above cited events, on an over and over basis I might add. Not just once-in-a-blue-moon occurrences, but as a 'norm' instead.
Colonel, what's a person to do?
Posted by: J | 19 January 2011 at 07:57 AM
The Sands of Time are running out for the Middle-East as the fulcrum of civilization and world history. The end will not be pretty for these nation-states and cultures. But hey keep pumping that oil and gas. And pretending they are infinite resources.
Posted by: William R. Cumming | 19 January 2011 at 09:05 AM
It's going to be a post-America world, like it or not, but the politicians and their neocon handlers can still do terrible damage as they go down in flames. The end result will be the post-America America mentioned by J, which has all but arrived save only a little tweaking through internet IDs and other refinements that will keep the hoi polloi down.
More than anything at this juncture I would love to see our politicians show just a little humility and restraint. Instead of Hillary mouthing off every ten minutes, I would like to see a week in which State Department and the White House pledge to say absolutely nothing about how foreigners should behave. Since they rarely know what they are talking about, what a relief that would be!
Posted by: Phil Giraldi | 19 January 2011 at 09:37 AM
Oh no, here we go 'again' .
Israel drums up heat on Iran
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/MA20Ak01.html
"In the aftermath of Israel's admission that Iran may be several years away from acquiring nuclear weapons capability, the chances have declined that Israel will strike Iran's nuclear facilities in the foreseeable future.
That doesn't stop Tel Aviv from frantically trying - to no avail - to rekindle the military option as it sees the undesirable ramifications of the latest intelligence estimate that sanctions on Iran mean it won't be able to build an atomic weapon for at least a few years yet.
With the genie of a reduced Iran proliferation risk already out of the bottle, it will take Herculean efforts to convince the international community that Iran today represents an "existential threat" to Israel warranting military action."
Posted by: J | 19 January 2011 at 09:59 AM
Israel biggest worry should be the $14T in debt we've amassed.
US GDP is now equal to US Debt. That translates into the need for us to grow at a faster rate than our cost of capital if I'm not mistaken.
The trailing 3 months, the US has spent an annualized rate of 4.1% on interest expense. The previous fiscal year, it was 2.9%.
Israel needs to find a new host.
Posted by: eakens | 19 January 2011 at 11:04 AM
Phil,
On another subject that is 'post-America Mideast' related, it appears that Germany has issued an arrest warrant for one of the Mossad hit persona from Mossad's Dubai fiasco. The 'unit' in question of the Mossad that did the dirty deed is called 'Caesaera'. We know that the IDF has their 'Kidon' hit teams that operate worldwide, under Dagan's auspices Mossad has place Caesara personnel doing 4 year tours often as 'sleepers' in foreign capitals until they're activated for their various ops. My inquiring mind wonders just how many 'Caesara' personas are 'sleeping' in our D.C. right under our plethora of U.S. Counter-Intels? Again, my inquiring mind wants to know, and I'd bet good money that if this question was posed to our elected representation in the Congress, they'd run from that question as if it were the black plague. I'm also assured that our DOJ would run from that one as well, as they have become little more than eunuchs as far as Israeli Mossad operations on U.S. soil are concerned.
Posted by: J | 19 January 2011 at 11:39 AM
Last time I looked America was not located in the Middle East.
"Turkey’s entry into the fray follows a pattern of initiatives in the region that do not always line up with American wishes."
So Turkey understand its national interests and puts them first? Seems like a good example to follow.
Posted by: Fred | 19 January 2011 at 12:21 PM
Colonel,
Americans doing Israel’s invasions and bombing campaigns for them is just a recent phenomenon associated creators of a new reality set free by the collapse of the Soviet Union. The basic problem is that their new reality has no correlation with actual facts. These dialectic conflicts and government bankruptcy will inevitability result in America’s withdrawal back to North America.
The simple fact of invasions and bombing campaigns against a subjected people has always united them and steeled their resistance unless overwhelming force is used to conquer them. As long as a people survive and keep their culture, the Overlords, sooner or later, will be thrown out. The Russians withdrawal from Afghanistan and Germany are just recent examples.
An Egyptian Woman American Professor on NewsHour had Goosebumps discussing the Tunisian Revolution. There is no more powerful revolutionary force than associating their government’s repression with hated foreign aliens.
The current President just said he is going get government regulation off the backs of business. Deregulation was the reason that Financial Industry collapsed in 2008. Deregulation is the reason why my Maryland assessment went down by $100,000. A President so divorced from the real world will fail.
The American federal government does not give a damn for its citizens. This is the power of the Tea Party; except they are lock stock and bought true believers of the New Reality. The stab in the back meme from ending the Vietnam War will be a pin prick compared to coming explosion from the withdrawal from the Middle East.
Posted by: VietnamVet | 19 January 2011 at 12:32 PM
Let's get back to economics.
At some point American industry is going to realise that there are now good investment opportunities in the Middle East that are unavailable to them while American foreign policy remains dominated by Israels wants. At that point Israel is going to be shown the door.
Evidence? Look no further than the indispensable Wikileaks cables for examples of the links between policy and commercial concerns. What is required of the Middle Eastern side for this to happen is the development of their own economies to the point where they can consume enough, produce enough and demonstrate economic stability to become investment targets (in risk management terms - reduce country/sovereign risk to manageable levels).
Turkey is already there.
http://www.amchamturkey.org/
Syria? Iraq? Lebanon? Tunisia?
Against that argument, I do not understand why American business interests haven't forced the lifting of embargoes on Cuba decades ago. European companies positioned themselves over Ten years ago against the day that this happens.
How much of Israel's 2006 war was aimed at destroying Lebanons tourism attractiveness by destabilising its Government? Will we have another spring offensive for exactly the same reason? Isn't it now obvious that Israel and America hope to foment civil war in Lebanon? Isn't it now obvious what Syria, Turkey and Iran must do to frustrate such plans?
In my uninformed opinion, risk management is the key. When countries like Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Iran, Tunisia, etc. can demonstrate that their investment risk levels are now easily manageable, then the Israeli goose is cooked.
Lebanon appears to me to be on the cusp of just such a determination by investors. Tunisia may be just starting the same process - which is why I was blathering on about trust, etc elsewhere.
Posted by: walrus | 19 January 2011 at 01:30 PM
Col Lang, Seymour Hersh has often been right in his analysis of U.S foreign policy. What is your take regarding his latest speech at the Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service in Qatar. Has he gone too far, or is he right on the money.
http://blog.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2011/01/18/seymour_hersh_unleashed-
Posted by: Augustin L | 19 January 2011 at 02:05 PM
To the extent it is being argued I think it is profound mistake to imagine a zero sum dynamic is at work here. To wit: as American's power and influence fades, regional powers fill the vacuum. I think the former is certainly happening. I do not think the latter is happening. Nothing, and no entity, is filling the alleged vacuum. It will take a hot crisis on the ground to prove, or disprove my premise. Or, put another way, if anything is filling this alleged vacuum, it is nihilism.
My lament, to the extent it is relevant, should not be taken for a plea to reassert American power. Just the opposite. Let the chaos come...and work itself out. This might just be a case of 'less is more'.
Posted by: jonst | 19 January 2011 at 03:36 PM
augustin l
Sy Hersh is a personal friend. pl
Posted by: Patrick Lang | 19 January 2011 at 05:21 PM
It's almost beyond comprehension that a nation such as the US could screw up so badly in its foreign endeavors. And yes, I understand the power of the Israeli Lobby, but for the US to act so willfully against its own interests beggars the mind.
To extend my rant further beyond the foreign, there is an absolute paucity of intelligent domestic economic and social policy.
Why on earth does the US keep committing national suicide?
Even for those who profit from the current arrangements, they must be thinking of short term gain only.
Posted by: steve | 19 January 2011 at 05:55 PM
I have lost my taste for analyzing the Israel issue.
I have decided on one fundamental bottom line point of view and that is when elected US politicians/officials pledge allegiance to, and swear to spend every last drop of American blood and every last dime of American treasure for the benefit of a foreign country in order to get elected they are traitors in waiting, if not in law. And unless Americans refuse to accept this abdication of US interest and the people's interest to self serving politics and foreign interest and these traitors are ousted America is finished.
Now I suppose I will have to explain to the alien colony in DC how this isn't hate talk but just plain political fact.
Maybe I can just fax them paragraph 10 of Washington's Farewell Address as a tutorial instead.
Posted by: Cal | 19 January 2011 at 06:12 PM
Augustin -
The Hersh link is not working, can you provide a working link?
Posted by: Joe100 | 19 January 2011 at 06:45 PM
Augustin,
This is the first time I have ever hoped Mr Hersh was overcooking it because if what he says its true....well then we in the ME have seen nothing yet.
jonst,
Turkey, Iran and Qatar. Look at their regional influence 5 years ago compared to today. Further still, compare those of Egypt and Saudi Arabia between then and now. Then compare and contrast the first list and the second vis-a-vis their closeness to the US.
Posted by: mo | 19 January 2011 at 06:54 PM
Anonymoius
That would be delightful. How about the EOHS? I am a member.
I have some crusader coins. pl
Posted by: Patrick Lang | 19 January 2011 at 07:51 PM
Jose,
Sadly Ileana is into year 21 in Congress as a member of of the party that wants to gut Social Security, something her predecessor, Claude Pepper, helped enact. What the State of Florida is doing to its university system is a disgrace, but I'm sure she'll just keep touting how she was a teacher (not for long, being elected had better perks and less accountability) started the pre-paid college program and not mention to pending decline of higher ed in the sunshine state.
Joe100, drop the dash at the end:
http://blog.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2011/01/18/seymour_hersh_unleashed
""Hersh said he asked Zardari about the tent cities he saw along the road, where people were living in harsh, unsanitary conditions.
“Well, those people there in Swat, that’s what they deserve,” the Pakistani president replied, according to Hersh.”
That's the way too many members of Congress (and state legislatures) feel about the homeless and unemployed here in the US.
Posted by: Fred | 19 January 2011 at 08:23 PM
Joe100,
Try this link for the Seymour Hersh piece:
http://blog.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2011/01/18/seymour_hersh_unleashed?sms_ss=blogger&at_xt=4d35d144d13498ee%2C0
Posted by: FB Ali | 19 January 2011 at 08:42 PM
mo,
My brother was at Sy's talk. he thought Sy was being pretty moderate.
I agree with Col. Lang that the cost of much more foolishness out that way may cause it to be wound down. May.
The situation in this country is as grave as I have seen it in my lifetime which started in the late 1940s. And I remember my late parents' comments on life in the Depression years.
steve,
We are being looted by various interests. it has happened in the past, in the 19th century and so on, but we do not learn. Congress instead of defending the national interest is part of the process.
Cal,
The politicians in Congress could care less about Washington's Farewell Address. It used to be read ceremonially there each session but I am not sure that tradition continues. But it is in one ear and out the other, then smiles all around...and here we are in Iraq and Afghanistan and so on.
Posted by: Clifford Kiracofe | 19 January 2011 at 09:59 PM