Here are some developments connected to the announcement of the agreement between the UAE and Israel to “normalize” relations
1. Someone in the Emirates – a proud parent, perhaps? – has posted a video of a young Emirati girl playing the Israeli national anthem, “Hatikva.” It is being interpreted hopefully – by both Emiratis and Israelis (who have been) as a symbol of human sympathy that transcends past conflict, even perhaps signs of a budding romance between two peoples, the Arabs of the UAE and the Jews in Israel. A little thing, but it’s the sum of these little things that creates the right atmospherics for people-to-people reconciliation.
2. Another video has gone viral in the Emirates. It shows two Israeli soldiers on the Temple Mount. One of them spots several Palestinians who have defaced, and are stomping on, a cloth with an image of Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi. He walks over, quickly takes the image from the Palestinians, and walks away with it for safekeeping elsewhere.
This incident – no more than ten seconds of infantile indecency by grinning stomping Palestinians, followed by no-nonsense decency from an unsmiling Israeli — received considerable favorable comment from Emiratis. One of them is a prominent cleric and media personality in the United Arab Emirates, Dr. Wassem Yousef, who often appears on television. In a tweet, he praised the Israeli soldier who prevented Palestinian demonstrators from stomping on an image of the Crown Prince on the Temple Mount. He included a video of the Israeli soldier quickly pulling the cloth up from the ground and walking away with it. In text accompanying the video Wassem Yousef wrote, “The manners of this Jew is [sic] more honorable than you, because you are without honor.”
Over a second video of the Palestinians stomping on the image, Yousef wrote, “This filthy morals [sic], you do not really deserve Jerusalem — most of you work in Israel and you are asking the Arabs to boycott Israel — the truth is you are without morals. The Jews are more honorable than you.”
Over a third video, which showed the Israeli and Emirati flags flying next to each other in Israel, Yousef said, “Israel raises the flags of the Emirates in the city of Netanya, and some Palestinians are burning the flag of my country.”
A recognition, albeit awkwardly expressed – the “manners of this Jew is more honorable than you, because you are without honor” is not exactly how one wishes it had been put – is welcome, and so is Wassem Yousef’s gratefully taking note of Israelis flying the Emirates flag in Netanya.
These are vignettes – the young Emirati girl picking out the Hatikvah, the Crown Prince’s image swiftly rescued from Palestinian defacement by an Israeli soldier – that are the building blocks of normalization between not governments, but peoples. There is an old English saying that applies here: “Many a little makes a muckle.”
3. A third news item from the Emirates, as some Israelis said, both raised and dashed some hopes. The UAE’s Minister of Foreign Affairs,, Anwar Gargash, promised in a speech that the peace with Israel would be a “warm peace,” as “unlike Jordan and Egypt, we have not fought with Israel.” That was the raising-hopes part of his speech, though exactly what that “warm peace” will consist of remains to be seen. But in the same breath, Gargash said that the UAE would place its embassy in Tel Aviv, not Jerusalem.
Some Israelis expressed disappointment. Should hopes really have been dashed by that announcement? Could anyone have believed that the UAE would place its embassy in Jerusalem, when only two countries in the world – the U.S. and brave little Guatemala – have done so? Could the UAE have done what the U.K., Canada, Australia, France, Germany, Italy and dozens of other countries — though they have long been allies of Israel — still have not done? Of course, it would have been sensational if the UAE had announced it was going to place its Embassy in “West Jerusalem” in the expectation that “our Embassy in the future Palestinian state will also be in Jerusalem – East Jerusalem.” But no one should reasonably have expected it.
4. Then there is Israel’s worry about the possible sale of F-35 airplanes to the UAE by the American government. Having cancelled the sale of F-35s to Turkey, the U.S. now has extra planes to sell. And the UAE has been trying for several years to buy these top-of-the-line Stealth fighters. The sale was apparently arranged by Jared Kushner, with the State Department and the Pentagon left out of the loop. It was a side agreement, not part of the normalization understanding. Many Israeli military men are deeply concerned that such a sale will threaten Israel’s security.
Some civilians in Israel do not agree. The Jerusalem Post writers are among them. The paper ran an editorial on August 19 insisting that there was nothing to be alarmed about. Here is some of that editorial:
The deal with the UAE is good – even very good. It formalizes a relationship between one of the Mideast’s richest nations with its leading technological one. It shows that the Arab world is no longer willing to be held hostage by Palestinian rejectionism and unrealistically maximalist demands. It sends a chilling message to Iran that two of its most formidable foes have joined forces. And it opens the door to other Arab countries interested in following the Emirates’ lead.
But imagine you are the leader of Bahrain, sitting in Manama reading about the brouhaha in Israel over the likelihood that the agreement includes a clause allowing the UAE to buy the F-35s, and that Jerusalem is vowing to fight the sale of the planes. As Bahrain’s ruler, you could be excused for thinking: What’s with these people? Do I really want to deal with them?
Why should Israel’s refusal to drop its objection to a sale of F-35s to the UAE make Bahrain unwilling to normalize relations with Israel? Israel’s promise to suspend its annexation plans is already quite enough of a concession to the UAE. Allowing the UAE to acquire F-35s is a concession too many, and would break, Israel’s generals fear, the longstanding American commitment to maintaining Israel’s technological edge in weapons.
The Jerusalem Post editorial continues:
In a normal world, the prime minister – on the verge of signing an important accord with an Arab state – would bring the top security brass into the decision-making process, and together they would evaluate it from every possible security angle, including the likelihood that the UAE will get access to top-notch US military hardware.
They would then do a cost-benefit analysis. In all likelihood, that analysis would conclude that normalization of ties with a key Persian Gulf state that might acquire the F-35s within the decade is much better than no ties with one not in possession of those planes. Israel has more to gain from normalization than it has to lose if those planes reach the UAE.
Apparently the military men have performed that cost-benefit analysis, judging by their deep concern, and unlike the Jerusalem Post journalists, they reject the hypothetical choice that the JP offers: either the UAE must be allowed to have those F-35s, if it is to go through with normalization, or if it is denied the purchase of the F-35s, it will refuse to go through with normalization. The JP editorial claims the choice for Israel is stark: “a Persian Gulf state that might acquire the F-35s within the decade” is preferable to “no ties [for Israel] with one [Persian Gulf state] not in possession of those planes.”
The JP editorial writers betray how little faith they have in the UAE, even as they claim the opposite, if they think the Emirates would refuse any “normalization” agreement if it were not also guaranteed the right to buy a squadron of F-35s. That F-35 sale was not part of the original agreement; the Israelis have been unpleasantly surprised to discover that Jared Kushner made this side agreement with the UAE But in the view of the Jerusalem Post, there’s no need to worry. The UAE is Israel’s BFF, and nothing will ever change that.
The Jerusalem Post’s jejune reasoning continues:
Because those jets are not meant to be used against Israel but, rather, against Iran, our common enemy. Israel has never been at war with the UAE, and – barring unforeseen circumstances and a coup that brings radical Islamic elements to power there – is unlikely to be anytime soon. True, strategic planners need to factor in even unforeseen circumstances, but those possible future developments – if their risks are low – need not paralyze Jerusalem.
The problem is that this cost-risk analysis at the level of the country’s top security echelon never took place, because Netanyahu did not want to bring Gantz into the loop. In other words, Israeli political infighting prevented a proper decision-making process, and the lack of that proper process is currently being debated domestically in view of the entire world.
“These jets are not meant to be used against Israel but, rather, against Iran…”: Oh, that’s okay then. Those F-35s are “not meant to be used” against Israel. Jerusalem Post, let’s get real. The Middle East is the least stable region in the world. Remember that under the Shah Iran bought enormous quantities of advanced American arms, but there was apparently no need to worry, for as Jimmy Carter said, in toasting the Shah in 1977, the year before he fell, Iran was “an island of stability.” Khomeini’s regime inherited all those weapons; those that are not obsolescent are still targeting Israel.
Should Israel bet its future on the UAE remaining BFFs with the Jewish state? Should the Jewish state rule out entirely the possibility of a coup, a change of policy, a change of heart in Abu Dhabi? Isn’t it true that Iran under the Shah had good relations with Israel, before it overnight became, under Khomeini, its mortal enemy? And isn’t it also true that before Erdogan arrived to undo Kemalism at home, and to reconfigure alliances abroad, Turkey had for decades been an ally of Israel and, just as with Iran, Turkey went from being an ally to being Israel’s enemy? Should Israel take a chance, and wager its national security on the assumption, with the ink scarcely dry on the normalization agreement, that the UAE will never change its policy toward the Jewish state? What happened to the longstanding American assurance, repeated by Trump to Netanyahu in 2017, that it would always “preserve Israel’s qualitative military edge”?
The JP editorial concludes:
Everyone is watching: The US, shocked that Israelis cannot graciously take “yes” for an answer; the UAE, flabbergasted that Israel is now making this into an issue; and other Arab countries, wondering what hiccups await them if they normalize ties with the Jewish state, a country with this seemingly bizarre knack of spinning gold into straw.
It’s not a “yes” that Israel is refusing to take, but the “no” that would supposedly be given by the UAE to the normalization agreement if it is not allowed to buy F-35 fighter jets. The UAE would not be “flabbergasted” if Israel were “now to make this into an issue” because the sale of the F-35s was never part of the normalization agreement. And it’s not the Arab states who have “hiccups” awaiting them “if they normalize ties with the Jewish state” but, rather, Israel that is enduring a good deal more than “hiccups” along the way – it’s been taken aback by the American government’s proposed sale of large numbers of F-35 fighter jets to the U.A.E, which, if it goes through, would definitely undermine that promise to “preserve Israel’s qualitative military edge.”
The F-35 sale to the UAE should be opposed by Israel and all those who support it. It’s a terrible idea. Amos Gilad, the former head of the Israeli Defense Ministry’s political-military affairs bureau, wrote in the leading daily Yedioth Ahronoth on August 20 that “Israel must never forget, not even for an split second, that any dent in its strength is liable to pull the rug out from under its feet in the long term. It is imperative that Israel prevent the sale of F-35 planes to any country in the Middle East and that it reserves its capabilities and similar ones for itself.”
As for the Jerusalem Post editorial writers who think the sale of F-35s to the UAE is a swell idea, and can’t see why nervous nellies (which is how they have the chutzpah to depict those sober Israeli military men warning against the sale) are so worried, their piece could have appeared as an editorial in the UAE’s English-language newspaper, The National – without needing to change a single word.
Roland says
Jared Kushner is nearly good enough reason NOT to vote for Trump’s re-election. Kushner should gamble with his own money, not Israel’s security.
gravenimage says
This is a serious point–but I don’t think that voting for Biden, who is cravenly apologizing to antisemites, would be preferable…
“Biden camp apologizes privately for throwing anti-Semite Linda Sarsour under the bus”
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2020/08/biden-camp-apologizes-privately-for-throwing-anti-semite-linda-sarsour-under-the-bus
Daniel Triplett says
We shouldn’t be sharing or selling our tip of the spear military technology with anyone, for 1000 different reasons. Maybe for our very closest allies, but there are only two or three on that list, perhaps just Israel, Japan, and UK. But under no circumstance to anyone else, especially Muslims, my God what a terrible idea.
Nor should we be training Muslim pilots, sharing our experience, fighting styles, and tactics. Another lousy idea.
The US does, however, benefit from having forward deployed permanent US military installations around the world and in the Persian Gulf. RAF Mildenhall and RAF Lakenheath are good examples: The British own them, but they are US operated bases with only US tenents, under the sole control and authority of the US. Ramstein AB in Germany and Kadena AB in Japan are other examples of such installations. Beyond just providing defense for the host country, more importantly these are important strategic assets for the US.
So, instead of selling UAE or any other Islamic state our jets and training their pilots, instead we should let them pay the US to build and maintain permanent US air bases with US Air Wings under the operational control and authority of the US. Same with US Army and US Navy installations. That way we don’t transfer our technology and fighting secrets, and we call the shots. Even if they didn’t pay us and we covered the entire cost, that would still be a good deal strategically for the US.
James Lincoln says
Daniel Triplett,
Excellent post, my compliments.
Israel definitely needs to maintain the qualitative military edge (QME) in the Middle East. The F-35 it is critical for this.
And the UAE already has a bunch of Mirage 2000 / F-16 tactical aircraft.
By the way, years back, our Navy C-130 flight crew had to divert to RAF Mildenhall. Low on fuel, very bad weather.
Had a local cabbie bring us around to some local pubs. Heavy British accent, I could barely understand him.
Had a great time…
gravenimage says
Good exchange, Daniel and James.
Daniel Triplett says
Thanks James.
Agreed, sharing/selling the F-35 to Arab actors is a blatant violation of QME Law — it’s not only immoral, it’s illegal.
Building, equipping, and operating our own bases in the Sunni Gulf states should always be our first choice. The way I see it, they don’t really have a choice in the matter, considering the Russo/Sino/Shia-Iranian fraternity.
It’s a better deal anyway for the Sunni Gulf States for the USAF to provide the air power for them. The efficacy and lethality is incomparable.
Unlike the US Military, Arab states select their pilots not by talent and ability, but rather by royal connections — princes or sons of close friends of the King. We train them, but it takes a ton of extra training just to get them qualified, and even then they’re just marginally safe, with limited effectiveness, and are in no way superior.
During the first Gulf War, for example, USAF interceptor pilots would often chase Iraqi jets toward the Saudi fighter pilots just so the Saudi pilot could get the easy kill he wouldn’t have been able to otherwise get on his own.
As a second choice to operating our own air bases and Air Wings in the Gulf, we should limit our sales to hand-me-downs only. Technology that has already been reverse-engineered by our adversaries, so it doesn’t really matter if our “customer” turns on us. This way we control the parts logistics too, so we can shut down their whole operation at will.
I love the C-130, but my gosh that’s a loud and long ride for intercontinental operations. I see you too know the charm and hospitality of rural England, having visited Mildenhall, where I’ve also been 100 times or more. So many good times there with the locals.
No one in the world knows how to enjoy a pint at the bar or by the fire like the English can. Such friendly people. And they love airplanes too. They have campgrounds set up outside the fence at the US air bases. They’ll be out there in snowstorms taking notes and photographs of USAF jets taking off and landing — not because they’re spies or anything — but rather they are the biggest enthusiasts of airplanes anywhere on the Earth.
James Lincoln says
Daniel Triplett says,
“Unlike the US Military, Arab states select their pilots not by talent and ability, but rather by royal connections”
100% true.
As a retired US Naval Flight Surgeon, I’ve done thousands of flight physicals on Naval aviators / Army pilots.
They are chosen *strictly* by “talent and ability.” No extra points for Ivy League or Military Academy graduates, political connections, etc.
One of my best Navy friends started at a community college, went to “State U”, and then went on to become a skipper of an F-18 squadron. He took me up in a two-seat trainer and we had a blast…
James Lincoln says
Daniel Triplett,
I inadvertently left off our great Air Force pilots!
As you well know, they were actually part of the Army until 1947 when they became an independent service.
I’ve treated a lot of them, great bunch.
Daniel Triplett says
A Naval Flight Surgeon would be an awesome way to spend a medical career. I’m sure it’s been rewarding for you. The military years were certainly the best years of my life.
I’ve always loved the F-18 but never had the opportunity for a ride in one. I’ll bet that was shit hot. 50,000 foot per minute climb rate!!! I applied to the Navy too, in large part because of that airplane. Got selected for both USN and USAF. Went Air Force, which I’ve really loved, and was better experience for the airlines. But if I had it to do over again would probably go Navy.
Christopher Watson says
Agree entirely but it might be ab idea if the Americans on the Lakenhall and Mildenheath bases learned how to drive cars. Just saying.
Daniel Triplett says
Hah!!! No, it’s you chaps who need to learn how to drive on the right side of the road!
Actually, I was surprised how easy it is to adjust after having spent time driving there. After about 15 minutes, it’s easy. Surely it’s the same for you all when you drive in America too.
Francis Weber says
We here in Australia dread tourist season when they exit a gas station and have a head on crash on the wrong side of the road.
Daniel Triplett says
Exactly. The dangerous part is at the beginning when first getting on the road. Staying in the correct lane after that is easy.
Francis Weber says
Did you intentionally omit Americas allies here in Australia?
Daniel Triplett says
No, sorry. Not omitting our Australian friends and close allies. I was just erroneously including Australia and your “Royal” Australian Air Force as part of Britain still, but that’s not fair or correct. Just my oversight, not intended to exclude or offend. I’m not an expert on Australian history or the exact lawful relationship between Australia and British Parliament, but I know you’re not one of the four UK countries, and you guys are certainly a sovereign nation and deserve to be regarded as such. The Australia Act 1986 severed the last ties I just read? Of course, Australia is included on the very short list of closest American allies.
jewdog says
Yes, the instabilities in the autocratic regimes of the Gulf, or in any autocratic regime, are a good reason to be extra-cautious about advanced weapons sales to the UAE. Those regimes may have their reasons for moderation, probably stemming from a desire to preserve their wealth and privilege, but in that region of the world, the wolf of hard-line Islam is never far from the door.
Francis Weber says
+1
RichardL says
pretty cool and, for me at least, rather surprising signs that sentiment in the Arabic peninsular towards Jews are changing fast.
gravenimage says
Notes On Normalization and That Sale of F-35s
………………..
I certainly hope I’m wrong, but I still think Israel would be wise to watch her back…
The Political Oracle says
As it is written in the quran, war is deceit. Trust but verify. It’s clear that UAE has a deeply rooted agenda. The trick here is to figure out the UAE’s true intentions. We can almost see those intentions through actions. The purchase of F-35s could have predicated on a peace accord with Israel. You didn’t really believe there would be real peace did you? Well, did you! I was really hoping for a second but I remembered the prolog of this message. Meddling in foreign affairs without knowing is dangerous bydiness!
Francis Weber says
Please read Article 7 of the Charter of Hamas and you will know why you can’t trust a single Muslim, Muhammad is more important to them than Allah!
P.S. Muhammad is Allah! The Quran dictated for his own sexual perversions!
The Political Oracle says
Correction: bydiness to business and have predicated to have been predicated
I have never had so much difficulty writing messages with my android phone than this blog. Spell check within the blog would be nice!
Myron J. Poltroonian says
Count your blessings. What you call “Spell check”, is actually “Mr. SpelCzech”, a.k.a. “He who knows better than we do what we were going to say and how we were going to say it”.
Myron J. Poltroonian says
I’ve often wondered if, when we sell advanced technology to some of our (less than stellar) “Allies”, we don’t surreptitiously also install an “Oops” button. In other words, technology that we can remotely activate to either disable the tech or cause it to go into a sub-par mode.
Francis Weber says
Better still a destruct button like the space rockets have!
Daniel Triplett says
That would be smart. At the very least though we can control the maintenance parts supply chain.
Clifford Fodor says
A scorpion wanted to get to the other side of the river. So he asked the fox if he could climb on his back and take him to the other side of the river. The fox tells him that if he does that, the scorpion will sting him, and he (the fox) will die. The scorpion said, “If I sting you, we’ll both drown.” So the scorpion agreed. The scorpion climbed on the fox’s back. Midway through the river, the scorpion stings the fox. As the poison courses through the fox’s veins, the fox turns to the scorpion and asks, “Why did you do that? Now we’ll both drown.” The scorpion answered, “I couldn’t help it. It’s my nature.”
Don Ameche says
“The sale was apparently arranged by Jared Kushner, with the State Department and the Pentagon left out of the loop. It was a side agreement, not part of the normalization understanding. Many Israeli military men are deeply concerned that such a sale will threaten Israel’s security.”
Jared Kushner deal …. with State and Pentagon out of the loop. Is it really all just about MONEY in the end?
Is it also perhaps about silencing all those “retired” American Generals who lately have been dissing President Trump ? Timed perfectly for a spate of silence from them right before the election ?
gravenimage says
This is both salient and troubling:
“Curb Your Enthusiasm: Saudi Arabia Wants Israel to Pay an ‘Expensive Price’”
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2020/08/curb-your-enthusiasm-saudi-arabia-wants-israel-to-pay-an-expensive-price
Of course, my enthusiasm for this was pretty curbed to begin with…
OLD GUY says
Never been a fan of providing military equipment to the Arab world or other countries that are suspect. But as usual the Military industrial complex wants the money, and money rules. I sincerely hope our wonderful men and women of our military don’t lose their lives to arms produced and sold by US companies to these regimes,