The fact is, that the leader of the free world has taken a major step back from the Middle East. No wonder that Russia and China found their way in, no wonder that Iran grew in importance and influence, taking over more and more neighboring countries. It was only a matter of time until someone chose to check the limits. Meanwhile the Ukraine war has kept everyone alert, invested and worried. A war that could not be won and should not be lost. A stalemate of sorts.
The Hamas attack on October 7th most probably was meant to be that check, orchestrated by Iran, facilitated by Qatar, approved by Russia and possibly China. It is not our place to conjecture, whether the US knew what was coming or just assessed it, but one thing is sure: the US reacted promptly, set the limits of the conflict, “cleared the ring” and rang the bell. The fight between good and evil on a scale of 1:1000 was on. On the one side was the free world, represented by Israel, on the other side the axis of evil, represented by Hamas and Hezbollah. President Biden knew, that Israel had to win this, or else… .
In this instance, one should not underestimate the wisdom of old school empires. On October 8th the US announced that the “Gerald Ford” aircraft carrier group is heading for the Middle East, meaning that talks about it started a day earlier, allowing Russian intelligence to give a heads-up to Iran and Khamenei to hit the brakes of Hezbollah to an almost complete hold. The final touch of the design was set by president Biden: “any country, any organization, anyone thinking of taking advantage of this situation, I have one word: Don’t. Don’t.”
This is the war to be won. The one war that will tell the world that evil will not prevail, a message to the axis of evil, but also to the weakening democracies in Europe. This is what happens when you bring an ISIS mindset into a Western civilization. True, the US could have done it in Ukraine, but with a clear risk of a nuclear war without sending a message to Islam fundamentalists. They could have taken it to Taiwan, with the same risk. They could have taken on Iran, but only at the risk of showing Iran the honor of being a suitable opponent.
All of a sudden all is quiet. Media has forgotten all about Ukraine, no word about Iran’s nuclear deal or Chinese flights over Taiwan, not even some North-Korean missile. Everybody is watching the war in Gaza – a war that was meant to evoke hatred, vengeance and brutal force, and is now handled “by the book”, clean, almost surgical. If you want to know how careful the IDF is handling things, all you have to do is listen to the Media in Arab countries, echoed by major “Free World” media and turn it around by 180 degrees. When AlJazeera says 10K civilians were murdered in air raids, you know that 100 combatants were killed in battle. If BBC shows Israeli bombing of a Gaza hospital with 800 residents killed, you’ll find that PIJ misfired yet another missile, hitting the parking lot of a hospital with 15 injured. The war is on media, it’s a war on public opinion, it’s a war on the morals of the free world. Do we or do we not believe that we are righteous, that we do the right thing and the right way. In a world, where US-Americans can believe that the Jews, and not Bin Ladden, brought down the World Trade Center in 9/11, when “ a letter to America” written by a terrorist has more views and reads than the “State of the Union” – this is the war that will turn the tide, hopefully.
Again, it is the Jews who have to take on the villain. In 1956 they had to fight for France and Britain in the Sinai desert for the Suez channel, in 1981 they had to take out the nuclear reactor of Sadam Houssein, in 2007 they took out the nuclear reactor in Syria and the list of secret missions maybe longer than we can even imagine. The question naturally arises, why Israel. Why not another US ally? Is there another ally that has the capabilities, the inclination and the scruples? That knows first-hand what would happen if they fail? Maybe there is and maybe not.
We are witnessing a war in a sand-box, where the free world is running the prototype, for all the world to see. Whoever understands the implications has gone all in. Many Arab countries have joined, others stand aside and watch, closely. They all understand that the ground rules are being reset as we speak, not in words, but in deeds. Europe is still divided, but mainly in matters of public opinion. Most administrations took the right side, while some hesitate as they have highly influenced, even indoctrinated, minorities taking to the streets.
In the end, it will be decided in Gaza: A win will produce the desired deterrence – don’t mess with the free world. Just imagine what will happen if the US take things into their own hands.
A loss will send a message of weakness – one that will bring on a tidal wave of Islamic fundamentalism flooding the Western Europe, rattling the fundaments of US democracy and providing Russia and China the leverage needed to dominate the world, not a free world by any definition.
This is a war that has to be won!
