The head of US Central Command (CENTCOM) arrived in Israel on Thursday for a two-day visit. The visit from Gen. Frank McKenzie is the first since the Trump administration ordered Israel to be covered under CENTCOM.
Previously, Israel fell under US European Command because of the tensions between Israel and Washington’s Arab allies in the region. But with warming ties and normalization agreements, the US took a step to bolster cooperation between countries that see Iran as a common foe.
Although the move was announced, Israel has yet to be formally transferred to CENTCOM. “The transition planning is underway, and a final timeline will be subject to approval by the new administration,” a Pentagon spokesperson told The Times of Israel.
McKenzie is set to meet with Israel’s top military brass on Friday. On Thursday night, he has a short meeting with Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Chief of Staff Aviv Kohavi. The IDF chief released a statement on McKenzie’s visit that said cooperation between the US and Israel is key to dealing with “shared threats, principally the Iranian threat.”
Earlier this week, Kohavi said he ordered the IDF to draw up fresh plans to attack Iran’s nuclear program and made his opposition to the Biden administration rejoining the nuclear deal known.
This change exposes another aspect of Israel’s ambitions.
Israel sees itself as part of Europe, both its economy and its political system. Its people see themselves as Europeans, not as Middle Eastern (which they think of as backward Arabs).
It has long sought to closer ties with NATO, and even better to get that without Turkey in NATO.
Beyond that, it seeks closer ties with the EU, instead of the increasing pressure it is getting.
Lumping Israel into the US military command arrangement with Gulf Arabs makes sense for attacking Iran, but it undermines Israel’s other longer term ambitions.
So..
Is it a good news, or bad?
“It is the mission of the Islamic Republic of Iran to erase Israel from the map of the region” — Grand Ayatola Khamenei, Jan 2001. Thousands of Iranian chant “Death to Israel!” “Death to Israel!” is printed on Iranian missiles. Soleimani boasted of helping Hezbollah in the 2006 war against Israel. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei offered to help anyone willing to attack Israel. That’s war mongering!
Israel wants good relations with Iran. Israel wants to buy Iranian oil & Israel wants to sell Israeli goods to Iran.
” “Death to Israel!” “Death to Israel!” is printed on Iranian missiles. ”
None of which have ever landed in Israel. Your Intelligence must be better than that of the US.
You meant..
Isrāel, a non-living entity is far greater than “Death to Rābin”, for starters?
Yikes!
What an Occidental klutz you are.
Now comes Biden even more aggressive for Zionism and the fake sheiks, …while promising to restore JCPOA. Cutting through all the stump fatuity, Trump/Pompeo talked tough, but used economic war; Biden/Blinken sweet-talk, but are preparing massive military force. It seems the problem once again, as the neocons wrote in their ’96 “Clean Break” Zionist strategy paper, will be only the need for another “pearl harbor” or “9/11”.
Is that even your offline-universe name?
Ohhh..
Good!
Now the Emirātīs can invite back their pig-faced of a hedonist baldie from partying in the Atlāntic City.
Also.. Maybe when their hangover will be over and they would’ve bungled-over their relationship with the Isrāelīs, maybe they can go warm-up to the “regressive” Alawite Berners of Morocco — to learn statecraft in a way which doesn’t just involve bribing much of the so-called fReE press and other alternative institutions.