Arab weakness and Israeli blackmailing

US President Barack Obama recently signed the Enhanced Security Cooperation Act with Israel, which came into being by usurping Palestinian land. This shows, on the one hand, the US administration’s continued biased policy toward this entity. On the other hand, this emphasizes what we have been speaking again and again about the weakness of the Arabs in conflict management with the Zionist entity and their inability to make investment in the elements of power that they possess.
No doubt, signing of the Act is another landmark in the strategic alliance between the US and the Zionist state.
The Zionism, since the foundation of the movement in Basle at the end of the 19th century, has emphasized its potential, with its exceptional cleverness, in fostering strong relations with the superpower. It found the two world wars as the most favorable opportunities to strengthen the positions of the movement in serving its objectives of occupying the Palestinian land after driving out its people. During World War I, it smartly utilized these relations. By exercising pressure on Britain, Zionism succeeded in getting issued the 1917 Balfour Declaration that committed Britain to supporting the establishment of “a National Home for the Jewish people” in Palestine.
When the British Empire showed signs of decline, American power was beginning to grow, and then Zionists switched their strategic alliance to the United States. Since the end of World War I, various US governments worked to make the Zionist project a great success and remove all the hurdles that came in the way.
US President Woodrow Wilson, author of the famous Fourteen Points and a champion of human rights, saw the Balfour Declaration as a prelude to the acknowledgement of Jews’ right to self-determination and pressurized Russian Prime Minister Alexander Kerensky to support establishment of a Jewish national state in return for ensuring support of Russian Jews to his government.
The role of US President Harry S. Truman was fundamental in taking the decision to divide Palestine in 1947. In all aggressions made by Israel against the Arabs, various US governments took the position of supporting the enemy.
At the time of every US presidential election, it was customary that candidates — during their campaign and after winning the election — used to vow to protect Israel. US also guaranteed to do everything to make Israel’s Army superior to those of the Arab states. These pledges included working to prevent Palestinians to have an independent state and denial of the right of the Palestinian refugees to return to their homeland.
The Zionist lobby has been successful in maintaining its hegemony in the American economic and media spheres, and that played a major role in influencing the outcome of presidential elections. This was also behind the enacting of American laws during every presidential election. In brief, they did everything needed for the Zionist entity. President Obama was not an exception to this. Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney also required to make new pledges of open military, financial and political aid to Israel despite the economic slowdown in the US. Obama’s signing of the Enhanced Security Cooperation Act with Israel comes in this context. The signing ceremony was attended by Richard Stone, chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, Lee Rosenberg, chairman of the Board of American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), and Howard Friedman, former chairman of AIPAC.
The US Congress passed the Act with an unusual speed even without a debate during last May. Only two Congressmen opposed it. They were Congressman Ron Paul of Texas who was a Republican presidential nominee and Congressman from Michighen John Dingell. The Senate passed the bill unanimously on June 29. It is worth noting that the budgetary office at the Congress did not make any assessment of the projected and allocated cost for the legislation. While defending the enactment of the law, Obama mentioned about the recent terror attack against Israeli tourists in Bulgaria, saying that the incident is a proof that aggression still poses a challenge to Israel. While reaffirming the unshakeable commitment of US to Israel's security, he said that it is to be ensured that the Israeli people should no longer become targets of any terror attacks in future. To assert this position, Obama entrusted US Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta to visit Israel in order to express solidarity of Americans, both Democrats and Republicans, with Israel.
Obama’s legislation specifies the dangers posed to the security of Israel in the wake of the major political changes taking place in the Arab region. He announced his government’s commitment to continue supporting Israel to strengthen its quantitative military edge in the midst of these fast changing regional developments.
Obama also vowed to veto any decision opposed to Israel at the US Security Council, and support its right to defend itself, in addition to expanding cooperation with Israel in civilian and defense fields, and encouraging its neighbors to recognize Israel as a Jewish state.
The bill expressed bipartisan Congressional support for administration’s initiatives that deepen US defense and security cooperation with Israel, to include providing Israel with financial and technological assistance to produce defensive systems to counter the threat of rockets and missiles; access to US manufactured defense equipment; enhancing efforts to halt shipment of weapons to Gaza, besides increased opportunities of training with US military forces.
It also highlights the intelligence cooperation between the two countries and increased role for Israel in NATO alliance. The bill states that it is the US policy to help Israel preserve its “qualitative military edge” amid rapid and uncertain regional political transformation and to encourage further development of advanced technology programs between the United States and Israel. The bill would require the president to submit to Congress a report on Israel’s qualitative military edge in light of current trends and instability in the region. It also seeks to enhance the capabilities of the United States and Israel to address emerging common threats, increase security cooperation and expand joint military exercises.
Another provision of the bill is to encourage an expanded role for Israel within the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), including an enhanced presence at NATO headquarters and exercises.
Signing of the Act is virtually a declaration about the capability of Zionists to blackmail the US Administration, and shows weakness of Arabs in managing conflict. The Zionists were successful in creating a powerful lobby supporting them within the US. This lobby is capable of penetrating the US economy and exercising hegemony in the electronic and print media as well as in Hollywood. All these contributed to America’s bias toward Israel. But this bias is another face of the Arabs’ weakness in mapping out a unified strategy to counter this even though Americans still have basic interests in the Arab world and it is impossible for them to dispense with these interests.

— Yusuf Makki is an eminent academic specialized in comparative politics. (Courtesy of Al-Watan newspaper)

Email: makki@alwatan.com.sa