Will the big show begin – or the stands remain empty?
Israel bemoans two stolen wars
by Uri Avnery
If somebody steals something precious from you, say a diamond, you may be angry. Even God himself said so.
And now somebody has stolen from us something much more precious than a diamond. A war. Perhaps even two wars. So we have every right to be furious.
War no. 1 was to have taken place in Syria. The US was to attack the regime of Bashar Assad. A medical operation: short, clean, surgical.
When Congress hesitated, the hounds of hell were let loose. AIPAC sent its parliamentary rottweilers to Capitol Hill to tear to pieces any senator or congressman who objected. In Israel it was said that Binyamin Netanyahu unleashed them on the express request of Barack Obama.
But the whole exercise was cockeyed right from the beginning. The Americans said that they were not aiming to overthrow the Assad regime, God forbid. On the contrary, Assad was supposed to stay on. It was not only a case of preferring the devil you know to the devil you don’t — it was clear that the second devil was much worse.
When I said that the US, Russia, Iran and Israel had a common interest in propping up Assad, I noticed a few raised eyebrows. But it was simple logic. None of these unseemly bedfellows had an interest in bringing to power in Syria a motley crew of violent militants, who seemed to be the only alternative if the fighting went on.
