War in Iraq is Bad for Israel
Two recent posts at CampusJ from Jewish student journalists indicate the possibility of a new consensus arising among both Israeli and pro-Israel politicians that the war in Iraq is having disastrous consequences for Israeli security.
Speaking last night at Indiana University, former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak took a negative stance towards the Iraq war, stating: “The country gradually deteriorates to civil war [and] the US presence is more and more a part of the problem and not the solution.”
Likewise, at Yeshiva University last week, former ambassador to Egypt and Israel Dan Kurtzer called for an immediate pullout from Iraq:
Kurtzer explained that while the U.S.’s initial success in Iraq in 2003 had gained Israeli support for the war because it shattered the long-feared Eastern Front, removing the possibility that Iraq would build an Arab coalition across the Jordan River into Israel, the current situation in Iraq poses new “direct and indirect threats to Israel.” He cited the unrest and unpredictability of the region as having a heavy impact on Israel, and reiterated that the U.S. must withdraw from Iraq so that it would be able to address other issues in the international arena.
Barak discussed what he saw as the three possibilities for success in Iraq, and seemed discouraged by all of them to some degree (especially the last two):
1.Democritization (he said this would likely lead to a radical Shi’a majority)
2.Splitting the country up by religion and ethnicity, with a hybrid Sunni center, and countries for the Kurds and the Shi’a respectively (he said this would likely lead Iran to use the Shi’a country through proxy)
3.Western countries dealing diplomatically with Syria and Iran to gain peace(he doesn’t see them as very good allies, obviously)
Mieux tarde que jamais.
I just can’t stop loving YU’s social action wing. While some of us were performing at Jewzapalooza, YU was (sadly) the only Orthodox group representing for Darfur. Now YU is — in stark contrast to other Orthodox groups — taking a staunchly pro-pullout stance.
YU needs a liaison to Boro Park.
I can’t believe those Zionist puppet masters. First they get us into Iraq (via PNAC) and now they regret it. Next time the Israel lobby wants something, please: let’s recommend the opposite – for Israel’s sake.
Please, the war in Iraq being bad for Israel is something that was blatantly obvious three years ago, at least now all of us who had a gut feeling that this would end up bad can feel vindicated by the NIE report…
http://www.newzionist.com/2006/10/why-am-i-not-surprised/