From the Liveblog of
Monday, October 28, 2024
NYT: Israel has supplanted the US as the major driving force in the Middle East
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A New York Times analysis claims that Israel has in recent weeks supplanted the United States as the major driving force of policy in the Middle East.
In an article entitled “Israel Calls the Shots in the Mideast as U.S. Plays a Lesser Role,” analyst Mark Lander argues that as Israel has forged ahead with strikes on Iran, Hezbollah in Lebanon, and Hamas in Gaza, US President Joe Biden finds his role “severely limited.”
“As the dust settles from Israel’s latest military strikes against Iran, analysts and former diplomats say one thing is clear: Israel, for better or worse, is dictating events in the Middle East. The United States has been relegated to the role of wing man, as its ally wages war on multiple fronts,” the article says.
The article agues that rather than engage in grand peacemaking efforts like his predecessors, Biden in largely involved in minor cleanup operations, although it notes that Israel still heeds some US warnings, like not striking Iran’s nuclear program.
The article quotes analysts as saying that the developments could embolden US foes like Russia and China.
It also notes that the US is not just hampered by Israeli actions, but by the political uncertainty in the US ahead of the next month’s presidential elections.
The Times of Israel Community.