RETIRED COLONEL KOBI MARON SPEAKING ON I24 NEWS ABOUT THE DANGERS OF AMERICAN WITHDRAWAL FROM AFGHANISTAN IN PROJECTING “WEAKNESS” IN THE MIDDLE EAST. SEPT. 3, 2021.
Israeli officials have reacted with "alarm" to the images of the United States leaving Afghanistan, arguing that
the U.S. has empowered Israel's enemies, according to an expert observer. Some say the withdrawal shows why Israel can never leave the occupied Palestinian territories.
Bottom line- The American "Forever war" is still getting raves in Israel.
Israeli government leaders have been careful not to be very vocal about that view. Though Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid
said two days ago that the U.S. withdrawal
could "hugely" impact the battle with al-Qaeda.
Officials speaking privately are more forthcoming. Neri Zilber, an Israeli journalist associated with the Israel lobby group the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, told
the Israel Policy Forum yesterday that he had heard "surprise, shock, and alarm" from ordinary Israelis.
"Israelis don't like to regard their closest ally, the United States, as being defeated, as being almost humiliated. So that was the general vibe. You had Israelis texting me... quite shocked to see what happened- as I think all of us were."
"Israeli officials also viewed it with a bit of alarm but not hysteria," Zilber said. "There is concern in Israeli quarters about what it might mean for Israel's enemies and America's enemies."
Israelis worry that the withdrawal will embolden Iran and Hezbollah, he said.
"The whole notion of deterrence and what lessons Iran and ISIS and other bad actors in the Middle East closer to Israel draw from the US Afghanistan story and the 20 year campaign that just ended .. it will be interesting to see if that's the lesson that bad actors actually draw from Afghanistan."
The same notion of "bad actors" and enemies was voiced today on the Israeli channel, i24 News. Retired Colonel Kobi Maron said
the American withdrawal "projects weakness" and that Iranian officials "sense a lack of determination" on America's part.
"Those tough pictures [from the Kabul airport] affect Israeli deterrence and American deterrence across the Middle East."
These claims about the effectiveness of military prowess also touch on Israel's 54-year-long occupation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem and Gaza.
Comment: It will be interesting to observe the remake of Afghanistan by the tribal sectors if certain meddling influences keep hands off, allow it time to heal and implement its course.