Pep Montserrat for The National
Pep Montserrat for The National

Israel risks its place in America's affections by its tone-deaf policy



Chuck Hagel's Senate confirmation hearings are over, and while the presumptive US secretary of defence seemed somewhat ill-prepared for the barrage of questions he received from his former Republican colleagues, it is safe to say that he will be swiftly confirmed in the post.

As expected, a number of the questions asked of Mr Hagel were about his views on Israel, which was mentioned a staggering 166 times during the hearings (compared to 20 mentions of Afghanistan, a country in which US troops are dying every day). The senators were disturbed by statements Mr Hagel had made in the past concerning the so-called "Jewish lobby" (by which he meant the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or Aipac) and how it tends to "intimidate" members of Congress.

"I have always argued against some of the dumb things they do because I don't think it's in the interest of Israel," Mr Hagel said in 2006. "I just don't think it's smart for Israel."

Mr Hagel has also bluntly dismissed those critics who have accused him of not being sufficiently pro-Israel. "I'm not an Israeli senator. I'm a United States senator," he told Aaron David Miller for his 2008 book, The Much Too Promised Land.

"I support Israel, but my first interest is I take an oath of office to the constitution of the United States, not to a president, not to a party, not to Israel. If I go run for senate in Israel, I'll do that."

Of course, in the current climate, suggesting that a US senator's primary concern is to ensure America's national security interests, rather than Israel's, is tantamount to political suicide. That explains why Mr Hagel bent over backwards to assure the senate that he loves Israel just as much as the next red-blooded, freedom-loving American congressman, and that he is committed to ensuring that America's relationship with its "most important ally" remains just as strong as ever.

Don't believe it. Mr Hagel's views are not only far from the congressional mainstream (and that is a good thing), they signal a perceptible and significant shift in the Obama administration's strategy in dealing with Israel. Indeed, Mr Hagel's nomination is a tacit admission by President Barack Obama of something that is becoming increasingly clear with each passing year: Israel is no longer America's "most important ally" in the region.

On the contrary, not only do America's national security interests in the Middle East no longer align with Israel's, but under the intractably right-wing leadership of the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, the interests of the two countries have mostly diverged in recent years.

Take the events of the past few months as an example. The stated policy of the United States towards Palestine is to bolster the moderates of Fatah while isolating and weakening Hamas. Yet Israel's most recent incursion into Gaza, coupled with its decision to punish the Palestinians for pursuing non-member status at the United Nations by withholding tax revenues from the Palestinian Authority (a decision decried by the Obama administration and ultimately reversed - temporarily -by Israel), has severely hampered that policy, leaving Hamas emboldened and Fatah irrelevant.

The US maintains that the only hope for peace and stability in the Middle East is through a two-state solution. Yet Israel's outrageous push for new settlements in the E-1 zone, which would split eastern Palestinian land and put off any hopes of restarting peace talks, has more or less put an end to the possibility of two states.

The US has based its Iran strategy on a policy of sanctions and negotiations, and has begrudgingly accepted that Iran to enrich low levels of uranium in exchange for greater access and international scrutiny of its nuclear sites. Yet Mr Netanyahu's rhetoric on Iran, his firm insistence that Iran permanently give up all enrichment at any level, and his blatant attempts to push the US into a war of his choosing have put the Obama administration in the dangerous position of essentially taking containment off the table in favour of a military response.

In none of these recent cases have Israel's actions benefited America's strategic goals. In fact, in some cases Israel has acted aggressively against America's best interests.

Just ask the CIA, which now considers the "most important ally" to be its "No 1 counterintelligence threat in the agency's Near East Division".

Read that sentence again. Not only does the intelligence agency believe Israel is not acting in America's best national security interest, it considers Israel to be the greatest counterintelligence threat in the region. Greater than Syria. Greater even than Iran.

Regardless of its many public statements to the contrary, it appears that the Obama administration is finally getting the message. That's where the nomination of Mr Hagel as secretary of defence comes in. Despite the scurrilous attempts by some Republicans to smear him as anti-Israel or worse - anti-Semitic - Mr Hagel is clearly neither.

However, what Mr Hagel recognises (and what seems to drive some in the pro-Israel camp crazy) is that the decisions made by successive US administrations to aid Israel's best interests have severely damaged America's own interests in the region.

Mr Hagel's nomination is an indication that the president feels the same way. Otherwise, there is simply no way the president would have chosen him to lead the Pentagon. Mr Obama knew that the pro-Israel hawks in Congress would pound their fists and pull their hair at his nominee's perceived lack of devotion to Israel. But the truth is, Mr Obama agrees with Mr Hagel and has been sending signals about his position for some time.

Consider the president's new approach to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, what the American journalist Peter Beinart refers to as "benign neglect". Recognising that Israel's self-defeating actions and the increasing insular nature of the government are severely damaging US interests in the region, the Obama administration has decided, in Beinart's words, to stop "trying to save Israel from the consequences of its actions" and, for its own good, to distance itself from those actions.

Or consider the message the president sent to Mr Netanyahu in a recent interview with Jeffrey Goldberg of The Atlantic. "Israel," the president said, "doesn't know what its own best interests are."

As Goldberg put it: "With each new settlement announcement, in Obama's view, Netanyahu is moving his country down a path toward near-total isolation."

The fact is that the United States wants peace in the Middle East. It wants safer and cheaper oil. It wants security for its embassies in the region. It wants an end to the civil war in Syria, stability in Iraq, democratic progress in Egypt and a lasting solution to Iran's nuclear ambitions. Most of all, it wants to pivot its military focus away from the Middle East and towards Asia, where Mr Obama believes America's true future interests lie.

Yet so long as Israel keeps pursuing its isolationist policies at home, so long as it threatens to start new wars, be it in Syria or Iran, so long as it continues to defy international opinion with its untrammelled settlement activity, the United States cannot afford to disentangle itself from the region. This is something that Mr Hagel recognises instinctively. And with the blessings of his boss, the president of the United States, it is something he intends to address in the Pentagon.

Make no mistake, the United States is still a solid supporter of Israel. It is unlikely the "special relationship" between the two countries will end any time soon. But the more Israel focuses on its own interests in the region, the more those interests clash with America's. Thank goodness, then, that the United States is about to have a secretary of defence who recognises this.

Reza Aslan is an adjunct senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and founder of AslanMedia.com, an online journal about the Middle East and the world. He is the author of No god but God and How to Win a Cosmic War

On Twitter: @rezaaslan

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Developer: From Software (remaster by QLOC)
Publisher: Namco Bandai
Price: Dh199

The specs

Engine: 2-litre 4-cylinder and 3.6-litre 6-cylinder

Power: 220 and 280 horsepower

Torque: 350 and 360Nm

Transmission: eight-speed automatic

Price: from Dh136,521 VAT and Dh166,464 VAT 

On sale: now

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COMPANY PROFILE

Company: Bidzi

● Started: 2024

● Founders: Akshay Dosaj and Asif Rashid

● Based: Dubai, UAE

● Industry: M&A

● Funding size: Bootstrapped

● No of employees: Nine

Key figures in the life of the fort

Sheikh Dhiyab bin Isa (ruled 1761-1793) Built Qasr Al Hosn as a watchtower to guard over the only freshwater well on Abu Dhabi island.

Sheikh Shakhbut bin Dhiyab (ruled 1793-1816) Expanded the tower into a small fort and transferred his ruling place of residence from Liwa Oasis to the fort on the island.

Sheikh Tahnoon bin Shakhbut (ruled 1818-1833) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further as Abu Dhabi grew from a small village of palm huts to a town of more than 5,000 inhabitants.

Sheikh Khalifa bin Shakhbut (ruled 1833-1845) Repaired and fortified the fort.

Sheikh Saeed bin Tahnoon (ruled 1845-1855) Turned Qasr Al Hosn into a strong two-storied structure.

Sheikh Zayed bin Khalifa (ruled 1855-1909) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further to reflect the emirate's increasing prominence.

Sheikh Shakhbut bin Sultan (ruled 1928-1966) Renovated and enlarged Qasr Al Hosn, adding a decorative arch and two new villas.

Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan (ruled 1966-2004) Moved the royal residence to Al Manhal palace and kept his diwan at Qasr Al Hosn.

Sources: Jayanti Maitra, www.adach.ae

The specs

  Engine: 2-litre or 3-litre 4Motion all-wheel-drive Power: 250Nm (2-litre); 340 (3-litre) Torque: 450Nm Transmission: 8-speed automatic Starting price: From Dh212,000 On sale: Now

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Thank You for Banking with Us

Director: Laila Abbas

Starring: Yasmine Al Massri, Clara Khoury, Kamel El Basha, Ashraf Barhoum

Rating: 4/5

The specs
Engine: 2.7-litre 4-cylinder Turbomax
Power: 310hp
Torque: 583Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh192,500
On sale: Now
MATCH INFO

Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg

Barcelona v Liverpool, Wednesday, 11pm (UAE).

Second leg

Liverpool v Barcelona, Tuesday, May 7, 11pm

Games on BeIN Sports

All or Nothing

Amazon Prime

Four stars

The specs

Engine: Direct injection 4-cylinder 1.4-litre
Power: 150hp
Torque: 250Nm
Price: From Dh139,000
On sale: Now

FINAL SCORES

Fujairah 130 for 8 in 20 overs

(Sandy Sandeep 29, Hamdan Tahir 26 no, Umair Ali 2-15)

Sharjah 131 for 8 in 19.3 overs

(Kashif Daud 51, Umair Ali 20, Rohan Mustafa 2-17, Sabir Rao 2-26)

SERIE A FIXTURES

Friday Sassuolo v Torino (Kick-off 10.45pm UAE)

Saturday Atalanta v Sampdoria (5pm),

Genoa v Inter Milan (8pm),

Lazio v Bologna (10.45pm)

Sunday Cagliari v Crotone (3.30pm) 

Benevento v Napoli (6pm) 

Parma v Spezia (6pm)

 Fiorentina v Udinese (9pm)

Juventus v Hellas Verona (11.45pm)

Monday AC Milan v AS Roma (11.45pm)

Tree of Hell

Starring: Raed Zeno, Hadi Awada, Dr Mohammad Abdalla

Director: Raed Zeno

Rating: 4/5

UAE v United States, T20 International Series

Both matches at ICC Academy, Dubai. Admission is free.

1st match: Friday, 2pm

2nd match: Saturday, 2pm

UAE squad: Mohammed Naveed (captain), Rohan Mustafa, Ashfaq Ahmed, Shaiman Anwar, Rameez Shahzad, Amjad Gul, CP Rizwan, Mohammed Boota, Abdul Shakoor, Ahmed Raza, Imran Haider, Sultan Ahmed, Zahoor Khan, Amir Hayat

USA squad: Saurabh Netravalkar (captain), Jaskaran Malhotra, Elmore Hutchinson, Aaron Jones, Nosthush Kenjige, Ali Khan, Jannisar Khan, Xavier Marshall, Monank Patel, Timil Patel, Roy Silva, Jessy Singh, Steven Taylor, Hayden Walsh

Company%20Profile
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UAE-based players

Goodlands Riders: Jamshaid Butt, Ali Abid, JD Mahesh, Vibhor Shahi, Faizan Asif, Nadeem Rahim

Rose Hill Warriors: Faraz Sheikh, Ashok Kumar, Thabreez Ali, Janaka Chathuranga, Muzammil Afridi, Ameer Hamza

Joker: Folie a Deux

Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson

Director: Todd Phillips 

Rating: 2/5

The Transfiguration

Director: Michael O’Shea

Starring: Eric Ruffin, Chloe Levine

Three stars

THE SPECS

      

 

Engine: 1.5-litre

 

Transmission: 6-speed automatic

 

Power: 110 horsepower 

 

Torque: 147Nm 

 

Price: From Dh59,700 

 

On sale: now  

 
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RESULTS

5pm: Wathba Stallions Cup – Maiden (PA) Dh70,000 (Dirt) 1,400m
Winner: Yas Xmnsor, Sean Kirrane (jockey), Khalifa Al Neyadi (trainer)

5.30pm: Falaj Hazza – Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner: Arim W’Rsan, Dane O’Neill, Jaci Wickham

6pm: Al Basrah – Maiden (PA) Dh70,000 (D) 1,800m
Winner: Kalifano De Ghazal, Abdul Aziz Al Balushi, Helal Al Alawi

6.30pm: Oud Al Touba – Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (D) 1,800m
Winner: Pharitz Oubai, Sean Kirrane, Ibrahim Al Hadhrami

7pm: Sieh bin Amaar – Conditions (PA) Dh80,000 (D) 1,800m
Winner: Oxord, Richard Mullen, Abdalla Al Hammadi

7.30pm: Jebel Hafeet – Conditions (PA) Dh85,000 (D) 2,000m
Winner: AF Ramz, Sean Kirrane, Khalifa Al Neyadi

8pm: Al Saad – Handicap (TB) Dh70,000 (D) 2,000m
Winner: Sea Skimmer, Gabriele Malune, Kareem Ramadan

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Mamo 

 Year it started: 2019 Founders: Imad Gharazeddine, Asim Janjua

 Based: Dubai, UAE

 Number of employees: 28

 Sector: Financial services

 Investment: $9.5m

 Funding stage: Pre-Series A Investors: Global Ventures, GFC, 4DX Ventures, AlRajhi Partners, Olive Tree Capital, and prominent Silicon Valley investors. 

 
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Checks continue

A High Court judge issued an interim order on Friday suspending a decision by Agriculture Minister Edwin Poots to direct a stop to Brexit agri-food checks at Northern Ireland ports.

Mr Justice Colton said he was making the temporary direction until a judicial review of the minister's unilateral action this week to order a halt to port checks that are required under the Northern Ireland Protocol.

Civil servants have yet to implement the instruction, pending legal clarity on their obligations, and checks are continuing.

Without Remorse

Directed by: Stefano Sollima

Starring: Michael B Jordan

4/5

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DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE

Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman, Emma Corrin

Director: Shawn Levy

Rating: 3/5

FROM%20THE%20ASHES
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'Top Gun: Maverick'

Rating: 4/5

 

Directed by: Joseph Kosinski

 

Starring: Tom Cruise, Val Kilmer, Jennifer Connelly, Jon Hamm, Miles Teller, Glen Powell, Ed Harris

 
Coming 2 America

Directed by: Craig Brewer

Starring: Eddie Murphy, Arsenio Hall, Jermaine Fowler, Leslie Jones

3/5 stars

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