One of my pet peeves with the US military, that I raise every time I find myself speaking to US military officers, is that they bowed to Arab pressure and wiped Israel off the Middle East map. This they did a number of years ago, when they decided that Israel would be attached to the US military’s European Command while every single Arab state is located in Central Command.
This articifial removal of Israel from the purview of Central Command has bred generations of US military commanders who due to the inherent distortion of their organization, almost necessarily emerge as hostile to Israel after they serve for any significant length of time in Central Command.
In my mind, one of Israel’s top priorities should be to demand that the US military place Israel back in Central Command to end this vile, unfair situation that works to the detriment of the strategic coherence of the US military and of course to the detriment of Israel.
With this introduction, I commend to everyone, Andy McCarthy’s authoritative and important analysis of Gen. David Petreaus’s hostility towards Israel. I have basically ignored the controversy regarding his remarks and particularly, Max Boot’s attack on Diana West for calling Petreaus to task for his unfair, incorrect and indeed libellous statements about Israel’s responsibility for Arab violence. And I am sorry for dong so. I received an email from Diana asking me to weigh in on the the issue but I just didn’t have the time or energy to do so. Maybe I was hoping that Petreaus was telling the truth when he tried to weasel out of responsibility for his untoward attack on Israel during his Senate testimony. At any rate, as Andy makes clear, Max was wrong to defend Petreaus and attack West and I am glad he took the time to call Max out for what he did.
Israel needs to recalibrate its strategic alliance with the United States. And Israel should prepare for the day, when America can no longer provide military assistance.
Caroline, dear!
Israel plays its basketball at the club level and its football at the national level in Europe!
Gezerah Shavah–if the Arabs won’t play with us what chance is there that they will accept being part of the same military alliance?
For all of the general’s calls for cultural sensitivity and engagement of Islamic and Arab culture, he (like most of the Islamic Democracy Project’s enthusiasts) seems to exhibit precious little understanding of the cultural and religious forces at work in the region. The notion that you can solve all the problems of the broader Middle East by “fixing” the Arab-Israeli problem is a classicly American, simplistic fool’s errand.
So that is what happened to General Petraeus–I remember him earlier as being one of the good guys–now the worm has turned and General Petraeus is now General Betrayus. Thank you, Caroline, for clarifying the situation and be assured many Americans are horrified at his assessment and ill treatment of Israel, which will be to his detriment. Blessings to you, Caroline, and to Israel, Ha Shem’s chosen ones.
An American general who takes a public position at odds with the commander-in-chief has little hope for his continued career. Think MacArthur and Singlaub.
If you thought the bumbling fool Carter was quick to releive Gen. Singlaub, just imagine what the menacing radical Hussein Obama would do to a general taking a contrary public position.
Obama brags he “brings a gun to a knife fight”. This explains his Israeli policy. It is not over-reaction. He’s bringing a gun to a knife fight. Why? He wants to win.
On his WMD strategy. He has announced he plans to leave the gun at home (in certain cases). Why? He wants to lose?
There are still three more years of Obama and his anti Israel hostility to endure and confront, I think Israeli Jews can handle one mixed race, diplomatically inexperienced and politically inept American President and his court Jews.
Firstly, thank you for your weekly column and blog, which help assure me (like countless other Israelis) that I am not loosing my mind.
However, I take exception to “one of Israel’s top priorities should be to demand that the US military place Israel back in Central Command”
This is the last thing Israel should be spending it’s time on.
Israel should be using the current crisis with the US to do what it should have been doing long ago; namely, both diversifying it’s relationships and embarking on a sustained course for greater self-sufficiency in military matters.
Israel caves into the US on arms sales to China and other potentially lucrative and bridge-building transactions while the US arms our enemies to the teeth with increasingly advanced weapons.
In the past 10 years Iran embarked on a military “self sufficiency” program.
While many of Iran’s claims as to what their homegrown technology can accomplish may be bluff, it has been more than enough to make the vast majority consider an attack on Iran to be an extremely dangerous proposition that should be avoided at (virtually) any costs.
Israel does not need a better military (or even political) relationship with the US.
We need to become as self-sufficient as we can and rid ourselves of this dysfunctional and increasingly detrimental “special” relationship with the US.
israel must stop looking for handouts and help from obama.
israel must make do with less, and rely solely on israeli nukes and israeli made bunker busting bombs.
obama’s weakness is enabling iranian nukes to be used to kill americans in america’s heartland-sealing obama’s place as the most disastorous leader in world history.
Petraeus’s mentor was Stephen Walt, and open admirer of Hitler. He and much of the top brass perceive the IDF as “baby killers, and cite The Goldstone Report to prove it. Admiral Mullen who was raised by a Hollywood talent agent who hated many of his Jewish clients for their supposed cheapness also holds deeply negative views of Israel blaming Israel for its murder of the U.S. Sailors serving on the U.S.S. Liberty. So Obama risks losing his soldiers if he doesn’t crack down on a country known within The State Dept. as “Semitism Gone Wild”.