BLOG 526
July 18, 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.
BITS AND PIECES IN ISRAEL
Here’s some of what is floating around the Middle East today. Israel continues to press the US to not join the Iranian deal. Even though former Prime Minister Netanyahu made a veiled threats against the Biden Administration over returning to the nuclear arms pact, Chief of Military Staff Avi Koavi pledged total cooperation and coordination with America. In turn, President Biden told Israeli President Reuven Rivlin “Iran will never get a nuclear weapon on my watch.”
Readers might draw the conclusion that Israel continues to fight the Khomeini Revolutionary regimen while trying not to provoke the people and their pride. At the same time, Israel continues to frustrate nuclear development within Iran.
Here’s a new twist in the Israel-Washington story. The New York Times reported that Former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged Donald Trump to launch a military strike against Iran after it was clear that the former US president had lost the 2020 election. General Mark Milley, the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, battled to prevent Trump from ordering a strike against Iran, while the President was circled by hawks, including Netanyahu, pressuring him to execute such a strike.
“If you do this, you’re gonna have a **** war,” Milley reportedly warned Trump at one point.
Other foreign policy advisers, including then-Vice President Mike Pence, also reportedly pushed for military action against Iran. When Milley asked why they were so intent on attacking the Iranians, at a meeting where Trump was not present, Pence replied: “Because they are evil.”
The newspaper story reported Milley believed that Trump did not want a war, but said the outgoing president kept pushing for a missile strike in response to Iranian provocations against US interests in the region. The chairman ultimately succeeded in preventing such a strike in the tail-end of Trump’s term.
The Joint Chiefs head said Trump was preaching Hitler’s ‘gospel’ before the Capitol riot. “In the months after the election, with Trump seemingly willing to do anything to stay in power, the subject of Iran was repeatedly raised in White House meetings with the President, and Milley repeatedly argued against a strike,” the New Yorker piece reported. Milley “was worried that Trump might set in motion a full-scale conflict that was not justified.”
It’s always a challenge to discover what’s going on behind closed doors. Then again, sometimes you really don’t want to know!
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)
Dr. Robert L. Wise 