by Zalman Shoval
Professor Zbigniew
Brzezinski, who served as national security adviser during the Carter
administration and is still considered a prominent foreign policy expert
in Washington, used to say, "The road to Baghdad goes through
Jerusalem." He meant that unless the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was
resolved, the Arab and Muslim world would continue to turn its back on
the West in general and the United States in particular, and the
instability in the region would persist.
Brzezinski's idea of
the "solution" to the conflict was to end the "occupation," accept the
Palestinian demands, form a Palestinian state and, of course, cease all
settlement activity. Various Middle East experts in the State Department
and White House hung on his every word, as did many political analysts
in the American and international media.
Brzezinski was not
alone in his views, which were shared by many foreign policy-makers in
western European nations, who never failed to warn Israel that "the
current situation cannot continue."
U.S. President Barack
Obama's Cairo speech of June 2009 perpetuated this view, which sees the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict as the heart of the regional unrest, while
others saw it as yet another instrument that can be used to clobber
Israel and undermine the extensive support it enjoys in Congress and
among the U.S. public.
History remembers many
cases when agreed-upon lies set the political agenda, but there are only
a handful of examples of situations when reality has hit people as hard
as it did Brzezinski and his ilk, given the events taking place in
Syria and Iraq.
Several academic and
media figures have, in the past, pointed to the real issued plaguing the
Middle East and to the fact that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict's
role in them was actually marginal, although, until very recently, such
people were in the minority. But now the cat is finally out of the bag,
in the form of the Islamic State group (formerly known as the Islamic
State of Iraq and the Levant).
This radical group has
shown its true colors in the most brutal of ways, declaring all-out war
on the religious and power structures in the region. This may send the
Middle East into a chaotic spiral in the next few years, and not only
does Israel have nothing to do with it, the Palestinians too are
irrelevant to the issue.
Several responsible
individuals in the American administration are beginning to see things
as they are, as are their counterparts in Jordan and other moderate Arab
counties. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas also knows the
truth, but unfortunately, he has failed to draw the proper conclusions
and dismantle his partnership with Hamas.
Hamas may not be a part
of the Islamic State group, but it subscribes to the same Islamic
aspirations and the same murderous jihadist methods. But have the
Brzezinskis of the world learned their lesson? Will they admit their
mistakes? Nothing is guaranteed, especially since some people find it
very difficult to let go of their opinions.
Israel has to prepare
for this emerging situation. Naturally, it must first deal with Hamas
and see Operation Protective Edge to a successful conclusion, but it has
to establish a common denominator with the international community when
it comes to the new developments in the region.
The so-called new Middle East --
real and perceived alike -- is gone. Its true, intimidating nature is
revealing itself right before our eyes. Then again, maybe it has always
been here and we just did not want to face it.
Zalman Shoval
Source: http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_opinion.php?id=9059
Copyright - Original materials copyright (c) by the authors.
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