By John Steppling*
The U.S. has exercised its veto power hundreds of times at the UN with regard to resolutions critical of Israel. It has also vetoed other resolutions that were indirectly problematic for Israel such as 39/54 in 1984 that demanded a nuclear weapon free Middle East. There were a number of other resolutions that demanded IAEA oversight of all countries in the Middle East. And of course Israel was never going to accept inspection of their nuclear facilities, which they denied existed anyway. It’s interesting that the least supportive president, for Israel, was George Bush Sr., who was the former head of the CIA.
The abstentions were usually part of a manufactured narrative regarding the peace process. In any event, Obama has been a blanket supporter of Israel, and that included the 38 billion dollar military aid package he signed only months ago. Now, all of this is partly just theater. Or perception management as they say on Madison Avenue. Obama has always carried this perception that he was anti-Israeli. Some of this comes from a racist element in certain circles of Israeli government, and even in U.S. Israeli supporters. But in fact, Obama has dutifully done as he was expected to do. So the recent abstention probably should be seen as part of a justification for a more drastic increase in Israeli violence against Palestinians once Trump takes office. Remember that Trump named David Freidman as ambassador to Israel, which as Bill Van Auken noted, was like a declaration of war on Palestinians. Also, it’s worth noting that Obama is in his lame duck period, with only a few weeks remaining in office. And he is faced with a humiliating defeat in Syria. The U.S. proxy war, co-authored by Saudi Arabia and Qatar and to some extent Turkey, with NATO compliance, has been essentially defeated. Now it was Hillary Clinton who most wanted to remove Assad. And her animus toward Russia and Putin played into this. The recent assassination of Karlov, the Russian diplomat, in Istanbul, and then the tragic plane crash that occurred are both going to raise eyebrows. Obama more or less openly threatened Russia in one of his recent speeches. So all of this is pure speculation, of course. One is forced to guess at the great game being played. However, the U.S. goal, which coincides with Israeli interests, is to reshape the Middle East. Breaking up Syria was meant to go the way of Yugoslavia, with the end result being a lot of small dependent statelets that owe their existence, in effect, to the United States. Kurdistan was likely one being drawn up. Kurdistan as the new Kosovo.
But that seems off the table now. The U.S. in Yugoslavia kidnapped Milosevic (recently acquitted a decade after his death) and tried him in a show trial at the Hague. But the case and the trial never went according to plan. The U.S. demonized the Serbs and worked with the worst most reactionary elements in that conflict (KLA, Croats, et al). So the next step was, we presume, the funding of the various jihadi groups in Syria. What the U.S. wanted to sell, in their perception management, as *moderate rebels*. Except they weren’t. And even many on the left are anti Assad. Forgetting that countries like Syria are under a lot of pressure from the forces of the U.S. military and western capital. Chavez was an ally of Syria and Assad, which should tell you something. Syria's borders were the creation of colonial pacts, much as the creation of Israel and Iraq. But the Syrian people have never doubted their own identity. And it’s ironic, perhaps, that Israel so often uses the argument of the colonial creation of borders to justify the idea that Syria, or any other Arab or Muslim nation is not authentic somehow. Not legitimate.
Now the U.S. media, which is heavily influenced by the Clintons (MSNBC, Time Warner, CNN etc.), repeats in various ways the trope of middle eastern anarchy and backwardness: Absence of democracy (their kind of democracy). The Trump faction is aligned with the Wall St. Journal and Breitbart and Murdoch (FOX). And they have a more old fashioned bigotry that they push. They are openly Islamophobic and Trump's appointments suggest Iran is sliding into the enemy #1 spot. But it’s also hard to tell what degree of isolationism Trump is going to embrace. Because there is a suggestion of that. Still, the U.S. economy isn’t going to suddenly rebound under Trump so he is going to be forced to find enemies that have to be fought. War is great for the economy (for some). And that might mean China and it might mean Iran; or both.
On the other hand, the American people are very tired of war; of endless conflicts in remote regions none of them know much about. Then Trump, unpopular with many, may find selling a new war harder than imagined. There is already a growing criticism of Israel. The US is starving, facing record levels of unemployment and poverty, and the idea of a costly war is not going to be readily popular, regardless of how much jingoistic marketing is employed. So look for events to sell this issue if the new administration sees itself desperately in need of one. False flag ops are a staple of the CIA and Mossad.
So I think leverage wise, there are movements awakening to U.S. foreign policy. Not everyone saw the logic of illegally going in and murdering Qadaffi, for example. And then having Hillary laugh about it on prime time TV only underscored the issue. Hence education and a continuing engagement with people. The U.S. public is much indoctrinated, but there are also signs of hope. Certainly, for the first time in forty years, Israel is losing control of the narrative. People are questioning the treatment of Palestinians. It can’t be hid anymore. It’s the arrogance of the current far right leadership in Israel that is causing this. They seem truly blind to it, and their hubris may come back to haunt them. Back in 67, and again in the early 70s, there were moments when the Israeli labor party might have sold their people, and Arab nations, on some form of two state solutions. But they rejected it. The militant wing of the Israeli military wanted none of it. The barbarity has only increased since then. Now one has to just keep spreading the truth. People like Miko Peled are very important voices, I think. He has great moral authority in this case. However, there are many others. There is also a rising tide of intolerance and xenophobia in Europe. Of anti semitism. That's real. And that, too, is exploited by Netanyahu. Nothing makes him happier than to see far right parties take control of the governments in Sweden and Austria, Switzerland, Poland, and Slovakia, Hungary and France even. This serves the purpose of Zionist aggression. They can point to the new anti-Semitism and claim they are victims. Therefore it’s important to carefully weed out the anti-Semites when organizing against Israel. Because if you don't, you find yourself in bed with the right wing zealots of these Islamophobic and racist parties; and even with the far right in the U.S.
Remember, the U.S. was founded on slavery and the genocide of Native Americans. Its what Richard Hofstader called the 'Gunfighter Nation'. Manifest Destiny and this notion, this mythology of rugged individualism is deeply ingrained in Americans. Even those that suffer under the boot heel of the ruling proprietor class. Its an age of marketing. But its coming to an end. Neo Liberalism and global capital are in crises. Its an important time to stay vigilant.
John Steppling is playwright, screenwriter and teacher. He is an original founding member of the Padua Hills Playwrights Festival, a two-time NEA recipient, Rockefeller Fellow in theatre, and PEN-West winner for playwrighting. Steppling has produced plays in LA, NYC, SF, Louisville, and at universities across the US, as well in Warsaw, Lodz, Paris, London and Krakow. He also taught screenwriting and curated the cinematheque for five years at the Polish National Film School in Lodz, Poland. His plays include The Shaper, Dream Coast, Standard of the Breed, The Thrill, Wheel of Fortune, Dogmouth, and Phantom Luck, which won the 2010 LA Award for best play. John Steppling's Film credits include 52 Pick-up (directed by John Frankenheimer, 1985) and Animal Factory (directed by Steve Buscemi, 1999). A collection of his plays was published in 1999 by Sun & Moon Press as Sea of Cortez and Other Plays. He and his wife currently reside in Norway.
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