The post-1945 Pax Americana appears more vulnerable than ever before, and its main rivals are eager to exploit its apparent weaknesses in the face of new violent conflicts. Insofar as there still is an international community, its willingness to maintain the status quo appears to have diminished markedly.
BERLIN – When German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, in a speech to parliament on February 27, 2022, described Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as a “Zeitenwende” (turning point), the risk of the war spreading was already apparent. But did he anticipate that we would be witnessing a chain of regional wars, or that tensions between great powers would begin to ratchet up almost daily? Sadly, that is where we are today.
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s unprovoked war of aggression was merely the first domino. Now, Hamas has launched a brutal terrorist attack on Israel from Gaza, killing 1,400 Israelis – most of them civilians – and abducting more than 200 others. How could such a deadly blow be struck against the Middle East’s strongest military and intelligence power? Can a terrorist organization like Hamas have accomplished such a feat on its own?
Consider the precision of the attack, and all the planning that went into it. Clearly, the goal was not simply to stage a blood-soaked display of ruthless brutality against Israeli civilians, including grandmothers and infants. More than that, it was intended to reactivate Jewish trauma by reprising the atrocities of the Shoah – the Nazis’ attempt to exterminate the entire Jewish people. The message for Jews is that they should never feel safe, even with Israel’s military superiority. Of course, Hamas is not alone in promoting this goal. So, again, we must ask if there was a state behind the attack. For obvious reasons, suspicions have fallen on Iran.
BERLIN – When German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, in a speech to parliament on February 27, 2022, described Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as a “Zeitenwende” (turning point), the risk of the war spreading was already apparent. But did he anticipate that we would be witnessing a chain of regional wars, or that tensions between great powers would begin to ratchet up almost daily? Sadly, that is where we are today.
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s unprovoked war of aggression was merely the first domino. Now, Hamas has launched a brutal terrorist attack on Israel from Gaza, killing 1,400 Israelis – most of them civilians – and abducting more than 200 others. How could such a deadly blow be struck against the Middle East’s strongest military and intelligence power? Can a terrorist organization like Hamas have accomplished such a feat on its own?
Consider the precision of the attack, and all the planning that went into it. Clearly, the goal was not simply to stage a blood-soaked display of ruthless brutality against Israeli civilians, including grandmothers and infants. More than that, it was intended to reactivate Jewish trauma by reprising the atrocities of the Shoah – the Nazis’ attempt to exterminate the entire Jewish people. The message for Jews is that they should never feel safe, even with Israel’s military superiority. Of course, Hamas is not alone in promoting this goal. So, again, we must ask if there was a state behind the attack. For obvious reasons, suspicions have fallen on Iran.