NEW YEARS PERSPECTIVE

BLOG  501

January 8, 2021

WISE ON THE MIDDLE EAST

Each week Robert L. Wise, Ph.D., explores the Middle Eastern situation, ranging from Egypt through Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Israel and the surrounding area. Wise first traveled to Israel and the neighboring countries in 1968. Two of his sons taught in Jordan and Lebanon universities. Wise presents an objective view of the behind the scenes situation in these countries.

NEW YEARS PERSPECTIVE

Last week  I wrote, “Everyone hopes for a better year than 2020, but the signs aren’t promising. Keep your seatbelts fastened.” And what followed? An insurrection in Washington D.C., with plans now being made for an impeachment of Trump. All in the following seven days! Was I on target or what?

Oklahoma had a county Sheriff who went to Washington to demonstrate. After the insurrection occurred, I heard him say to explain his actions that 99.9 percent of the demonstrators were peaceful. That’s a little like saying riding on the Titanic was no problem since everyone could swim.  The citizens of his county have now filed a recall petition to get rid of him.

I know, I know, this isn’t about the Middle East yet, but it makes the point about the importance of perspective. I write these weekly blogs to help readers have a balanced and informed viewpoint. I attempt to relate information that isn’t found in most media outlets. The intent is to help you have a better perspective than the Sheriff had and has.

In all the chaos in Washington this past week, very little was reported from abroad. I previously broke the story that the Netanyahu-Gantz government failed and another election is set for March 23. Of course both men blame the other for the failure. The Jerusalem Post reported Benny Gantz explaining, “A man under three indictments is dragging Israel to elections for a fourth time.”

The truth is that the Israeli government failed to function effectively since it was formed last May. The political situation is a mess and surely chaos will follow. Stand by.

Keep your eyes on Turkish President Recep Erdogan. His government is in full agreement with the Muslim Brotherhood.  He is an imperialist, a fascist, and no friend of the West. He went after the Kurds living close to the Syrian border. Erdogan continues to deny the Turkish genocide on the Armenian people. The positive side of the coin is that Turkey is weaker than many people thought. Nevertheless, the West cannot concede to this dictator without destructive results following.

While Turkey and Iran are historic enemies, don’t discount how unexpected connections could occur. In the fall of 2017, a tactical alliance was struck between Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and Erdogan. In 2018, a nice “family style” photo was taken of Erdogan, Rouhani, and Putin. My, my, all smiles. Some citizens in both Iran and Turkey still foster dreams of the Old Persian and Ottoman empires. Maybe World War I wasn’t enough for them.

One of the problems of the last four years has been that the Trump administration treated Israel like a bargaining chip for the American Right-Wing and Netanyahu personally. Not that an American Embassy didn’t belong in Jerusalem, but that the Arabs were left out in the cold. The so-called Peace Plan of the Century put the Palestinians in the deep freeze. The Arabs never even considered the proposal. Politics was everything. Perspective was nothing.

My point? Keep taking a long-range view.

Let the miracles begin!

My latest books:

I Marched with Patton: A Firsthand Account of World War II Alongside One of the U.S. Army’s Greatest Generals!

by Frank Sisson (Author), Robert L. Wise (Author)

You can find I MARCHED WITH PATTON on Amazon.

82 Days on Okinawa: One American’s Unforgettable Firsthand Account of the Pacific War’s Greatest Battle!

You can find 82 DAYS ON OKINAWA on Amazon.

by Art Shaw (Author), Robert L. Wise (Author)