About Israel, Saudi Arabia, Iran
I have my doubts about this article. The author may be dreaming, or making much too much of some events that have much less significance than he thinks.
But it’s certainly interesting, and so I bring it up for discussion. An excerpt:
The Warsaw conference on peace and security in the Middle East dealt primarily with the Iranian threat to that region and its highlights were undoubtedly the unprecedented signs of continued thaw in relations between Israel, represented at the highest level by prime minister Netanyahu, and the states of the Arabian Peninsula, represented at the foreign minister level…
What is the cause for these developments that are as unprecedented as they are unreported by the American media? One word: Trump. Trump did three things that forever changed the political makeup of the Middle East…First, he swapped out the plaque on the American Consulate in Jerusalem for one that said EMBASSY OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. With this move Trump signaled to the Arabs that the US had no more tolerance for scenarios in which Israel was not a permanent presence in the region…Second, Trump allowed the full might of American technological innovation to be brought to bear in extracting marginal oil deposits,..Finally, Trump withdrew from the so-called Iran deal, making it clear that in the holy war between the medieval Shia and the slightly more modern Sunna, the US was going to help the forces of sanity rather than the forces of eschatological craziness.
“Forever”? Not so sure about that; couldn’t any of these things be undone by future President OAC (or some other Democrat so inclined)? And are the Saudis really the forces of sanity? In comparison to the Iranian government, perhaps, but the Saudis have been (or at least used to be) a huge sponsor of Wahabism and therefore an inspiration for a large swath of terrorists.
Well, in the Middle East, there probably aren’t a whole lot of great choices for an alignment.
The author goes on to posit an apocalyptic and Manichean battle brewing
And so the battle lines are drawn, the battle of Gog and Magog, of the Sons of Light and the Sons of Darkness, as the Dead Sea Scrolls have prophesied, is just about ready to commence. On the side of light we have an unlikely coalition of Sunni Arabs, Israel, and the newly minted American nationalist movement under the leadership of president Trump. On the side of darkness, there is the Shia Persians and their auxiliaries in Lebanon, Syria, and Yemen, the neo-Ottoman Turks, the corrupt and criminal “Palestinian” leadership, be it the PLO or the Hamas, neo-Imperial Russia under the leadership of its cohort of kleptomaniacs, the anti-Semitic Western Europeans, and the neo-communist and equally anti-Semitic American progressives represented by the Democratic Party.
Only three-quarters of a century after the last battle for the soul of mankind was fought and won by the Sons of Light, albeit with tremendous sacrifice and near world-wide destruction, a new battle of similar proportions is brewing.
I used the word “Manichean” to describe the battle this author envisions. It’s a word I learned long ago, and so I decided to check on its more precise meaning. What I found indicated it’s even more apropos to the author’s prediction—and especially his metaphors—than I’d originally thought:
Manichaeism was a major religious movement that was founded by the Iranian prophet Mani in the Sasanian Empire.
Manichaeism taught an elaborate dualistic cosmology describing the struggle between a good, spiritual world of light, and an evil, material world of darkness.
Wonder what would happen if Israel would tell the Saudis that they would help protect Riyadh and Kaaba with air power? I know that the Saudis have a good air force but Israel’s is better. Combined, Iran would be in a world of hurt.
When you see somebody evoking Gog Magog you are often in the presence of some sort of fundamentalist who believes that the world has entered the “Endtimes.”
Gog and Magog | religion and mythology | Britannica.com
In the Revelation to John (20:7–10), the names Gog and Magog are applied to the evil forces that will join with Satan in the great struggle at the end of time. After Satan has been bound and chained for 1,000 years, he will be released and will rise up against God; he will go forth and deceive the nations of the world—Gog and Magog—gathering them together in great numbers to attack the saints and Jerusalem, the city God loves. God will send fire from heaven to destroy them and will then preside over the Last Judgment.
What a load of crap!
Interesting article – thanks for posting it!
Dr. Pletner, the author, is describing the major improvements in alliances between the Sunni Muslims & Israel that have been pushed ahead, both directly & indirectly, by Prez Trump that are affecting the balance of power in the Middle East. He does a succinct job of tying them all together so that they make sense for what’s transpiring in the region.
He notes that Iran & other Shia Muslims (the enemies of Sunnis) have made a major investment in warfare supplies that will be useless before long, as a transformative peace process is near fruition. If they don’t want to see it wasted, they will have to use it and soon.
As both a Jew and an ardent supporter of Israel, peace & liberty, Dr. Pletner uses the (perhaps rhetorical, perhaps not) device of the Torah’s prophesies regarding the battles of Gog & Magog, relating them as being this upcoming battle between Sunnis & Shites over Israel’s right to survive – a battle likely also involving the USA & others, too.
It’s ironic that the peace process may well provoke Iran to blow their arms stockpile in a “use it or lose it” last attempt to destroy Israel. Dr. Pletner believes the fuse has been lit & the battle may well be inevitable. That could certainly be a huge conflagration – one in which Obama & Crooked Hillary had a major part in causing (Nobel may want his Peace Prize back).
Everything is more complex than it first appears…
Magnus writes “Everything is more complex than it first appears…”. Richard Feynman wrote “Nobody understands quantum mechanics.” The world is orders of magnitude more complex than quantum mechanics. Nobody understands.
I think it reasonable to say that global politics have been changing very quickly since Trump was elected. So far so good, no matter what the media say. I think prayers are in order. They can’t hurt.
The rapprochment between Israel and the Saudis is pure opportunism by the Arabs. They are terrified of Iran. If the threat from Iran collapses so too will the alliance between Israel and the Gulf states.
Things have come to a pretty pass if they have to start relying on da Jews.
(Not that this will prevent them from continuing to viciously slam da Jews—and their “illegal” and “immoral” State—in local media, in public fora, in universities and in international organizations. Not one iota. Slander and demonization are hard habits to break…maybe there ought to be a 12-step program?…)
This is pure self-interest to the nth degree. (Though one may ask, what’s wrong, or so unusual, about that?….and one may answer, that well, in this case we’re talking about the erasure of a country.)
When there is no more “pure self-interest”, things will likely revert (though perhaps with the odd exception of the Gulf states) to the “oh-so-normal” demonization (with absolutely no holds barred).
To be sure, when the chips are down, one really wouldn’t want to rely on these guys.
Really not.
(As for the Saudi air force….)
It’s ironic that the peace process may well provoke Iran to blow their arms stockpile in a “use it or lose it” last attempt to destroy Israel.
David Goldman has also pointed out that Iran is having a population crash. The military age male population will soon drop significantly.
Israel and the Saudis have been quietly cooperating for a while.The whole mideast thing is a civil war in Islam between Sunni and Shia. We should have a stayed out. Probably should have let Saddam have Saudi but we didn’t anticipate fracking.
The Saudi crown prince, perhaps in response to the shameless trashing by the Democrats, seems to be turning toward China.
The civil war between Sunni and Shia has been going on since the very early days of Islam, and so has the intermittent war between strict Islam and its more tolerant versions. (Note I said “more tolerant,” not “tolerant” without the modifier.)
I read a few more posts at the website Neo linked, just to get a feel for their ideological position, and was gob-smacked by something that had not actually occurred to me since the mid-terms: Nancy Pelosi is now third in line for the throne.
https://tsionizm.com/analysis/2019/02/13/the-honorable-nancy-pelosi-speaker-of-the-house-of-representatives-third-in-line-for-the-presidency-purposefully-and-definitively-normalizes-anti-semitism-in-america/
From that post, after summarizing the conditions of Jews in most if not all countries of the world, especially Europe:
The civil war between Sunni and Shia has been going on since the very early days of Islam, and so has the intermittent war between strict Islam and its more tolerant versions. (Note I said “more tolerant,” not “tolerant” without the modifier.)
Well, yes. Except in general the Shia are the more tolerant.
The strictest are the Wahhabi — the Saudi Arabians. If we are talking about medieval regimes, then it’s them, not the Iranians.
Iran is run by the Mullahs in the last restort, but they have a secular parliament, with real elections and some real power. That actually makes them more democratic than any Arab country.
I understand that the US gets it’s knickers in a twist about how they were kicked out of Iran when the Shah fell. But they shouldn’t let that get in the way of what is real. The long term danger is siding with the crazy Saudis, who are increasingly unpopular.
It would save an awful lot of grief if the US just got over spilled milk.
The other spoke is Israel, which fears Iran. Precisely because it isn’t 100% an autocracy, so they can’t come to terms with it — as they have with all the autocrats in the region. Every ruling group in the area, with the exception of the Jordanians, fears their own countrymen far more than they fear the Israelis.
“…the Shia are the more tolerant.”
Well, yes, in some cases this is true. But not in all cases: what would the Baha’i make of such a contention? How many Jews lived in Iran before the Shah’s fall, and how many live there now? And what would the Sunni who live in Iran say about the tolerance of the Mullahs? (Any idea, by the way, how many Sunni mosques there are in Iran?)
“…but [Iran has] a secular parliament with real elections and some real power.”
Oh really? Tell it to the protesters. Tell it to the women who would like to remove the hijab. Tell it the Baha’i. Tell it to the Sunnis who live there.
“…spilled milk.”
Are you absolutely sure that this is the only reason why the US is concerned about the IRI? Might there be some other reason (or even reasons)?
“Israel…fears Iran…precisely because [Iran] isn’t 100% an autocracy.”
Again, are you absolutely sure that is THE reason why Israel “fears” Iran? Might there be another reason or two?
(And if Iran isn’t “100% an autocracy”, then what percentage—of a mullacracy—is it? 99%? 95%? 90%? 80%? 70%?… And what does it really matter if it is, in fact, the mullahs who are calling the shots and who have the support of the army and—most importantly—the Basij?)
As for Jordan, it’s over 65% Palestinian, is hosting a huge influx of Syrian refugees and has very few sources of income (aside from generous handouts by other countries who are terrified that the Kingdom will fall either to the Moslem Brotherhood or to Iran). Are you absolutely sure that King Abdullah sits easy on his throne?
And since when does Israel have relations with “all the autocrats in the region”?
I understand that the US gets it’s knickers in a twist about how they were kicked out of Iran when the Shah fell. But they shouldn’t let that get in the way of what is real. The long term danger is siding with the crazy Saudis, who are increasingly unpopular.
So, you ignore the historic role played by Iran with respect to Russia ? There was a reason why we were allied with the Shah. He was trying to modernize too quickly but the mullahs have turned out to be far more corrupt.
The Saudis made a pact with the Wahhabis, mainly Ibn Saud in the 1930s. That may not last as MBS is trying to modernize the Kingdom. We don’t need them anymore but Israel is allying with all the Gulf states against Iran. I don’t see where we come into it.