Begging Trump: Netanyahu, and the Sunset of Israeli Sovereignty
The Illusion of Sovereignty: How Netanyahu’s Quest for Political Survival Transformed Israel into an American Protectorate
It is difficult to envy Benjamin Netanyahu the most controversial man in the Middle East who finds himself once again in the familiar and bitter situation of trekking to the White House. Ten years have passed since that dramatic speech in Congress against the Obama nuclear deal and here Netanyahu returns to the exact same point as he is forced to plead before the President of the United States for the future of Israel's national security.
The strategic tragedy of Netanyahu lies in a fundamental error that he himself led. Due to political survival motives and primarily the desire to drag out the military campaign as much as possible he chose to entrust the management of the Middle East to American hands. This policy has effectively turned Israel into the official Puerto Rico of the United States. Netanyahu preferred to present the release of the hostages and the emerging surrender to Hamas as a great achievement to the Israeli public while in practice this is a waiver of Israeli freedom of action in exchange for temporary industrial quiet.
Now Iran is gaining momentum again and it is becoming a larger and more complex threat than before. Despite the cautious optimism in certain circles in Washington Netanyahu remains completely dependent on the mercies of Donald Trump. The current White House is focused on managing the world and is pushing the isolationist camp to the sidelines out of a sense that America can achieve global dominance through military force without the need for new wars. This approach which succeeded in Venezuela and is currently projected toward Cuba and Iran may serve the American interest but it leaves Israel in a position of inferiority.
The expected criticism from the political extremes in the US is already being heard. The central claim is that Netanyahu arrives in Washington to drag the United States into a war it does not want. The inconceivable gap between the interviews he gives to the global media about ending American aid in a decade and the desperate courtship at the patron's doorstep in the present creates a very problematic appearance for Israel.
The most resonant question arising from this conduct does not concern only the external image but the essence of our existence. How did it happen that the most critical national interests of the State of Israel were once again placed in foreign hands.
Why does Netanyahu lead us time and again to the same humiliating position of pleading. The answer to this is probably not found in strategy books but in the rooms of psychologists or with the historians of the future who will try to understand how the leader who spoke more than anyone else about independence turned Israel into a total protectorate.