This next piece is from an Israeli blog, written by a journalist named Rechavia Berman. Berman talks about many of the same issues discussed in these pages, and being a native New Yorker, specializes in matters American. In his latest installment, after discussing the latest depressing news from Mesopotamia (the fake letters, the palm trees, the fiasco in waiting with the Turkish troops), he puts matters in perspective for his audience:
"But Rechavia, for Pete's sake, why should we care about America's problems?" I hear that from time to time, so I guess an explanation is due. Besides the whole strategic vacuum on our eastern front, that will ensue following the eventual American departure, there is a very simple reason for us Israelis to be worried about the American failure in Iraq.
When the war just began, the rationale, excuse and causus belli was that Saddam is dangerous, because he has WMD. After this was found to be false, the tune was changed and now the war was justified because Saddam was a terrible dictator who committed terrible crimes against his people. After this excuse stops convincing anyone, say after the US army gets dragged unwittingly into some massacre of ciivlians, or after it becomes totally clear that the administration doesn't give a good goddamn about democracy in Iraq - how long do you think it will take before the president or someone close to him, in an attempt to buy the Jewish vote, claims (falsely of course) that "We had to invade Iraq in order to defend Israel"? I give it nine months. And if you don't think that's bad for Jews everywhere, take a moment and think again.
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