"The bottom line is that the enemies of Israel are bemused that Americans themselves are self-destructing for Palestine in such a way that Donald Trump could be propelled back into power." - Malcolm Nance
A fellow Substack writer and former military intelligence analyst, Malcolm Nance, wrote a sobering article linking the current campus protests to an attack on liberal democracy and I agree. Someone asked me what I thought about the Gaza protests and my reply was that I doubt they are really about Palestine but a symptom of something far more sinister and dangerous.
My question is who would benefit from U.S. domestic turmoil right before the Presidential elections and the possible election of Trump? Malcom mentions that moderate Arab countries (including the Saudis) fear having the Trump bull in their fragile china shop again. Then, I asked myself what other war was raging and vying for U.S. support? Of course, Trump's mentor Putin is mired in his never-ending war in Ukraine and has documented experience with using disinformation to influence elections in the U.S. and elsewhere in the West.
The bottom line is Russia and Iran are teaming together to create pre-election chaos callously using the plight of Gaza civilians as their cover. The protests have little to do with "Palestine" but are really about Putin's war in Ukraine. Notice that the Israeli defense funding bill in Congress was attached to the Ukraine defense bill. The two wars are intrinsically linked. Disrupt support for Israel and you also disrupt support for Ukraine.
“Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” -Winston Churchill
There is no denying that Israel fell for HAMAS's October 7 bait and overreacted (and still is). The U.S. warned them not to do as we had done falling for Bin Laden's suicidal terrorist attack and expending precious blood and treasure in forever wars beyond our comprehension.
The history of the Middle East is deep, dark, and complex which are not qualities of liberal Western minds preferring snap, black-white reasoning. Westerners (including the Israelis) persist in seeking a logical solution to the situation ignoring that martyrdom, not reason prevails. The thousands that die and suffer in Gaza are a feature not a flaw of HAMAS's plan. Israel instinctively understands this dynamic of martyrdom through centuries of history of the region.
Iran has coopted the Sunni Muslim radical Islamists into its Shiite radical Islam vision of driving Westerners (Jews included) from the Levant region. Iran supports HAMAS and Hezbollah organizations to martyr themselves to drive out non-Islamic Westerners. Iran is also deeply connected to Russia in Syria fighting against Western influences in the region. The Putin-Ayatollah team is a match made in Hell.
“War is Politics by other means.” -Carl Von Clausewitz
The BDS (boycott, divest, sanction) movement began as a Palestinian Arab movement to enlist the support of Western liberals for the emerging state of Palestine. Over the years Arab support for the movement has waned, but recently it has suddenly resurged with new funding and purpose. I contend that Iran and Russia are using the organization to cover their subversive activities in the U.S. and EU.
"Universities have been primary targets of the BDS movement, according to English professor Cary Nelson, "because faculty and students can become passionate about justice, sometimes without adequate knowledge about the facts and consequences. ... [U]niversities also offer the potential for small numbers of BDS activists to leverage institutional status and reputation for a more significant cultural and political impact." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boycott,_Divestment_and_Sanctions
There is little doubt that the Trump-led Republican Party is closely tied to Putin's influence and authoritarian style of governance. The attack on the "woke" leftist liberal universities dovetails into Putin's plans for influencing the upcoming election. A Republican-led committee has already eliminated two liberal university presidents who naively walked into their trap. Commandeering the existing BDS movements on campus gives Russia/Iran cover to create anti-Israel, anti-(Western) colonialist publicity and chaos moving public opinion toward right-wing authoritarian candidates and weakening Western-led liberalism worldwide.
As Malcolm states, this is very convoluted and confusing, but the end game is the systematic weakening of liberal democracy and Western economic power. The U.S. government is currently dysfunctional and very vulnerable to hostile manipulation. We all need to be clear-eyed about the consequences beneath the surface of seemingly inconsequential campus demonstrations.
”As long as the Arabs fight tribe against tribe, so long will they be a little people, a silly people, greedy, barbarous and cruel.” - Lawrence of Arabia
It seems that we too have become “silly people.”
I think that the protests are rather more straight-forward than a conspiracy between Iran and Russia; also, I would not give them credit for the brains to pull it off. But its always good to explore every possibility...
Relying on anything Malcolm Nance says is laughable. Do better sir. Perhaps the war is raging within.