Robert Inlakesh
Source: Al Mayadeen English
Yet, the struggle shouldn’t be read in this way, as the true power lies not in “Tel Aviv” but in Washington.
This agenda would not be possible without the United States and could not be hatched by the Israelis alone. Whether it be in Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, Iraq, Yemen, or Iran, the Americans are the backbone of the plot. Understanding this must be the foundation of reading both Israeli and US actions.
While in the past, the interests of the United States and the Zionist entity may have slightly differed, October 7, 2023, put both on a path of complete alignment. There are two primary factors to keep in mind here when considering this analysis and why it makes sense: The role of Zionist financial power in the US political system and the strategic goals of the American leadership.
The US-Israeli agenda
As there are various analyses of the US-Israeli alliance, the starting point here should be an example of where American and Zionist interests have collided. Iran is a key example of how such a disagreement has demonstrated that the US will place its own regional ambitions above the considerations of donors when push comes to shove.
It is clear that AIPAC, the most powerful pro-Israeli lobby group in the United States, seeks regime change in the Islamic Republic of Iran, which is also a goal shared by most policymakers in Washington. However, there have been considerable differences in the strategic approach to achieving this goal.
The fact that the US Obama administration approved the 2015 Iran Nuclear Deal demonstrated that the demands of the AIPAC lobby and the direct influence of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will, at times, fail. Under the Trump administration, the approach to Iran did change but still didn’t result in a direct assault against Iran.
Even in 2023, during the lead-up to the primary foreign policy goal of the Biden administration - sealing a normalization agreement between Saudi Arabia and the Zionist regime - we saw that attempts were made to grant Iran certain concessions with deconfliction being the goal in mind. That same year, around $20 billion in frozen Iranian assets were set to be released, as part of a prisoner exchange deal between the two sides. It is no secret that the Biden White House knew that achieving a revival of the nuclear deal was out of reach - in large part due to Zionist Lobby interference - yet sought to prevent any kind of escalation prior to sealing its prized Saudi-Israeli deal.
The American government had taken a more strategic approach to dealing with Iran, which pushed back against the wishes of the pro-Israeli lobby that had advocated the war hawk position. While the ultimate goal may have been the same, the US would occasionally put its foot down and implement what it saw as the smartest approach.
At this point, the US and Zionist regimes could still be labeled as two separate entities. This is despite the fact that many of the think tanks in Washington were funded by Zionists, the lion's share of the lawmakers were paid for by pro-Israeli lobbyists - on issues pertaining to foreign policy - in addition to many government members professing belief in Zionism.
The end of 'Israel'
October 7, 2023, changed everything in this regard. Only a few weeks prior to the Hamas-led operation against the Zionist regime, the Biden administration had announced its vision for the Indian-Middle East-Europe economic corridor and this came against the backdrop of Riyadh and “Tel Aviv” both signaling a Saudi-Israeli normalization deal was almost ready.
A major miscalculation had occurred, which is the assumption that the Palestinian cause was effectively dead and that they could not possibly do anything significant enough to change the direction the region was now headed in. Despite the rise of armed resistance inside the West Bank for the first time since the Second Intifada, coupled with the major warning sign of the 11-day Gaza war in 2021, the US-Israeli alliance failed to see the writing on the wall.
What Hamas did was completely destroy the illusion of Israeli security, deterrence, and, by extension, the American projection of regional power. The war shattered the hopes for achieving the US’ desired trade route that would have run through the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and then occupied Palestine. It also raised the question: If this is what Hamas, on its own, can do, just how powerful is the Axis of Resistance led by Iran?
Suddenly, overnight, it appeared as if the US role as the dominant power in West Asia was collapsing before our very eyes, that the Zionist regime was in demise, and that Iran was the dominant force regionally. The US could not accept this outcome and decided to work with the Israelis to completely undo what occurred that day.
If you attempt to analyze the course of the war over the past 13 months through a purely Israeli lens, what they have done makes no sense. The decision to continue its genocide past the period of the first few months has in fact crippled the regime. Nearly a million settlers have left, their sense of security has been robbed from them, the already divided society has fractured further, their political system is in disarray, their economy is crumbling, and their "international legitimacy" is gone; only held up by their closest Western allies.
Yet, the struggle shouldn’t be read in this way. The true power lies not in “Tel Aviv” but in Washington.
Without the economic, diplomatic, and military support of the United States, there would not be an “Israel” any longer. In fact, the old Zionist entity is no more. Today, the idea of complete victory is being directed by the United States, and the vessel through which this concept is being carried out is Benjamin Netanyahu.
If you read many analyses put forth by self-professed experts, they present a narrative that the Israeli PM is an irrational actor running an extremist coalition but is being tamed by the United States. This is the kind of fictional presentation of events presented through the likes of Bob Woodward’s recent best-selling book “War”. It attempts to put blame on the alleged independent actions of the Israelis, while the US Biden administration has been there to try and calm the situation down through tirelessly working toward the passage of aid into the Gaza Strip and diplomacy aimed at sparing the entire region from a catastrophic war.
If this was the case, the US regime would not have continued “Operation Prosperity Guardian” in the Red Sea in order to combat Ansar Sllah’s blockade. It wouldn’t have permitted the pager terrorist attacks in Lebanon and the decapitation strikes ordered against Hezbollah’s senior leadership in Beirut. It also would have forced the Israelis to allow aid into Gaza, enforced its “red line” over the invasion of Rafah, and worked to directly prevent the road toward the "annexation" of the West Bank.
If the US government sought to actually act in the interests of maintaining the Zionist Entity, it would have forced through a ceasefire at the beginning of 2024, or even in May following the Israeli invasion of Rafah. However, it only permitted further escalation and sought to maintain the genocide, while hatching plots to deal blows against every single member of the Axis of Resistance.
None of this is in the interests of a severely weakened Israeli regime, which can be demonstrated through its failure to destroy Hezbollah, despite the massive blows that were dealt against the Lebanese Party in September. If you look at the Israeli military strategy on the ground in both the Gaza Strip and how it has operated in South Lebanon, it doesn’t actually have any clear goal beyond destruction for the sake of destruction.
Placed at the head of this campaign of regional terror is Benjamin Netanyahu: a man possessed by his own self-interests/political survival above and beyond any kind of ideological commitment to the survival of the Zionist regime. Behind him, backing his actions to the hilt, are a combination of Israeli military and intelligence figures who do not possess the kind of political sway that he does in Washington and are working with the US to execute a regional offensive strategy, while Netanyahu’s loyalist suck-ups and fanatical religious-nationalists seek to achieve so-called “Greater Israel”.
The Israelis do not possess the power to mobilize the Takfiris in Syria alone or manage the battle with Hezbollah or airstrike trade-offs with Iran. This is a combined effort that is staged by the United States. Why? Because this war is about re-asserting American dominance, it is about striking fear in the traditionally pro-US Arab regimes in order to deter them from pivoting to the East. It is more than just West Asia politics, it is about Russia, China, and the newly emerging Global South economic alliance.
The US regime is an imperialist force, fixated on global dominance and has long considered West Asia as its own backyard, so if it allows for Iran to come off as a victor regionally or for the perception of American power to fall, it loses what is considered one of its strategic strongholds.
The US must deal with a myriad of complex relationships throughout the region, and the ability of their Israeli allies to emerge as a dominant force from any conflict reflects directly on Washington. What also must be considered here is the influence of the US military-industrial complex, which seeks to demonstrate its ability to produce the superior military tools that the nations of the world desire. The carnage that the Israelis inflict with these weapons will market them, while the outcomes of conflicts also influence the perception of this industry.
It is incorrect to separate the US and Israelis when it comes to the current regional war, Washington has completely taken over the decision-making of the Zionist entity, it owns it, while the pro-Israeli lobby groups throw their money into securing complete political adherence to the mission. This means that the Zionist mega-donors to political, academic, and financial institutions are now working to crush descent, as “Israel” is used as the spearhead to inflict the necessary damage that will project American power.
The strategy is being done at the expense of the long-term existence of the Zionist entity, which is crumbling at every level and would not survive much longer without the US propping it up. Therefore, the US and “Israel” are one and the same, one depending on Zionist money to aid it and the other depending on Washington’s support to maintain it. There is no reasoning with this joint entity, as only military defeats or setbacks will force it to end any given aggression.
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