Observant intelligent people are well aware of the Saudi government intelligence services being well aware of the 9/11 plot and did nothing to stop it or warn the Americans. They are also well aware of the fact that the Bush family became incredibly wealthy in the oil business with a few quid pro quos with the decadent Saudis. After the Saudi sanctioned 9/11 attack GW Bush knew of the Saudi complicity but somehow chose to attack and destroy Saudi Arabia’s existential enemy Iraq. Over three thousand young brave American were killed, tens of thousands more physically and psychologically maimed and of course over three trillion dollars squandered. On top of it the debacle made the Obama Presidency possible. America suffers in many ways from these needless entanglements.
Actually its probably in the best interest of Israel to disengage from America. IMHO the Russians since the fall of communism have had a much more realistic approach to the area and its realities. Israel has many historic and cultural ties with Russia and they seem to understand each other well.
Love the story about the Saudis and the 2014 winter Olympics. The Saudis were very upset that Putin was supporting Assad and were disrupting their ISIS dreams. They advised Putin that if his support for Assad continued then they could not guarantee that the winter Olympics being held in Russia would not suffer terrorist attacks. Putin was grateful of the Saudi guarantee. He then stationed three Russian nuclear submarines off the coasts of Saudi Arabia and told the Saudis that if the Olympics were attacked, he would not be attacking Iraq. There were no attacks on the Russian Olympics.
Yet you, as a patriotic Israeli ( who I suspect was born in the US) should understand that as much as decent Americans admire what Israel has accomplished and built after the Holocaust and why it could not be done any other way, American support has had its consequences for the American people. It would be beyond naiveite not to understand the motivation of those vile, hateful privileged Saudis that resulted in the 9/11 carnage and all that followed. Neither you or I will be around long enough to read the dispassionate history of these times that will be written say two hundred years from now.
Actually its probably in the best interest of Israel to disengage from America.
America has its history of double-dealings as much as any superpower. It also has a moral compass. Russia has as much of a moral compass as any large, ferocious bear.
“IMHO the Russians since the fall of communism have had a much more realistic approach to the area and its realities. Israel has many historic and cultural ties with Russia and they seem to understand each other well.”
See final sentence of last paragraph. We understand them all right. America and Israel don’t always understand each other, because America does not at all understand the Middle East and Israel does. But that’s naivety, not malevolence. They just can’t think like byzantine and assume everyone is as straightforward as they aspire to be, but are not, and have qualms about anything underhanded.
Israelis aren’t naturally byzentine, but they understand it and have to deal with it daily. So we can out-Lavan Lavan, if we keep our eyes open.
For that, America is our bestest friend. It’s like walking through a bad neighborhood with Herman Munster. He’s big and scary looking, and means only good. But he’s also a great deterrent against muggers, even if when somebody comes up to him and asks if he has a nickel, he looks through his pockets to see. The mugger pulls out a knife, but Herman accidentally swats it away and dislocates the mugger’s shoulder while politely explaining that he only has a quarter.
Native of Buffalo, NY, btw.
Bottom line is, the Palestinians are really the least of our worries. They became dangerous because they have been mis-used repeatedly by unscrupulous people, and pointed towards us as the cause of their suffering, and offered incentives for attacking us. In 1968, the PLO attempted set up an office in the “west bank,” but the Arabs living there refused to allow it. They found their “occupation” to be entirely tolerable at the time. Things changed, but that was not inevitable. The rest of the Arab world excepting Jordan didn’t have to keep them in refugee camps and exploit them for crap wages, just for starters.