The Russian invasion of Ukraine is a brutal act in and of itself, which Russia and its adversary the United States could have prevented in advance. Russia is committing monstrous atrocities in Ukraine, the likes of which it perpetrated in Chechnya and Syria. Back then, the supposedly humanitarian West easily assuaged its moral agony but is now apoplectic. Contrary to the illusions dispensed by the foolish disciples of an imaginary "globalization," there is no global government in the world. There are no laws, and there is no judge. We mustn't be deceived by the American and European outrage toward the Russians. It is patently subjective.
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The only job of the White House is to protect American interests, as it perceives them to be. Hence US President Joe Biden's predecessors, Donald Trump and Barack Obama, also allowed Vladimir Putin to lay waste to Syria, foregoing the imposition of sanctions and sufficing with hypocritical condemnations. Biden, meanwhile, has unleashed an unprecedented economic and diplomatic war against Putin, over Ukraine. The different responses can be found in the United States' interests. Ukraine borders important US allies. In contrast, Syria, Georgia (which Russia attacked in 2008), and Chechnya are all distant. American interests are the reason the US abandoned us in 2015 and is now set on abandoning us and our Arab allies again by striking a nuclear deal with Iran in Vienna. The Democratic party thought at the time, as it does today, that the US interest is to make Iran the dominant force in the region. It knows this is what it's doing.
In this state of affairs, in the absence of a global government charged with protecting humankind, the Israeli government is obligated to protect the interests of the State of Israel – and them only. This is the truest moral position of a leadership cognizant of its duties, contrary to moralistic platitudes. No one will help us against Iran. Our fate is in our hands alone here. The danger of Iran, and nothing else, should guide our decisions, not moral hysteria around Ukrainian refugees, for example. The source of their problems isn't a shortage of countries willing to take them in, and we must act wisely while wedged between global powers.
We've seen that the current crisis has placed Israel in the position of one of the mediators between Russia and Ukraine and Western powers, chief among them the US. This mediation, however, apparently cannot be effective. Prime Minister Naftali Bennett's actual ability to strike an accord between the sides is limited. He cannot threaten them or promise them anything for altering their positions.
Bennett, though, is doing the right thing, if he uses his newfound diplomatic status to disunite Russia and Iran, to the greatest extent this is possible, and thereby foil the emerging nuclear deal between Iran and the West through Russian mediation. A nuclear deal will likely be extremely lucrative for Russia. It wants to sell weapons to Iran, which will become wealthy once sanctions are lifted. There is, however, a reason to hope that the sanctions imposed on Russia for invading Ukraine can disrupt these plans. The Kremlin asked the West to exempt its commercial dealings with Iran; in other words, it asked that Iran not be punished for doing business with Moscow.
It's hard to believe the Americans can concede to such a demand amid their current hostilities with Russia. The importance of the matter is considerable, because Russia was mired in economic troubles before the war in Ukraine, and is now suffering an economic disaster.
Thus far, the Israeli government has been passive and meek in light of the looming deal with Iran. Foreign Minister Yair Lapid's notions of renewing the alliance with the US Democratic party have crashed against the jagged rocks of reality. Lapid pinned our hopes to a world order spearheaded by the United States. He has failed to see that we are about to be trampled by this world "order" in Vienna. There is a certain chance, which is hard to gauge, that the current global disorder could prevent Iran from attaining the salvation it seeks.
Iran's nuclear project must now be delayed, by any means necessary, in the hope that the circumstances will change in the future and until, for example, a saner Republican Congress or administration can take power in Washington. It's possible that Bennett's recent efforts were meant to create such delays. Either way, we mustn't lift our eyes from the black clouds moving our way from Iran.
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