Die Welt: Barack Obama's Dangerous Mistakes

The mistakes of the US President in the Middle East are leading to ever more serious consequences. His desire to pursue a policy of appeasement is a threat to the entire region. And now Vladimir Putin will supply missiles to Iran.

Lord Weidenfeld writes about this in an article entitled “The dangerous mistakes of Barack Obama”, published on the website of the newspaper Die Welt.

I recall the famous words of Cicero to conspirator Catiline: “How long will you abuse our patience?” When I hear — if I may say so and realize some degree of insult to Majesty — about President Obama's new misstep in foreign policy. Vladimir Putin’s sale of C-300 missile systems to Iran implies that sanctions should be lifted completely, with the result that Iran’s military arsenal will be strengthened. During the one-hour telephone conversation, Putin reassured Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, it was about defense, not offensive weapons that could cover the distance to Israel.

This does not prevent Iran from transferring these weapons to Hezbollah terrorists in Lebanon that depend on it. In the event - expected by authoritative experts - of a new intifada, which could be launched simultaneously by the Islamic State, Hamas and other terrorists from the Golan Heights in the north and in the Gaza Strip, they would be able to threaten the Jewish state with missiles.

The first signs of the coming crisis are numerous new attacks on the border and aggressive maneuvers of Hezbollah and IG groups on the Golan Heights, not far from the border with Israel. But on the Sinai Peninsula, which turned into the “Wild West”, Egyptian troops are fighting to keep peace with Israel, with terrorist elements. Hamas, which opposes the very existence of Israel, has at its disposal missiles, whose flight range and efficiency is constantly increasing.

Nuclearization of the region

However, Putin’s attitude towards Russian Jews is markedly friendly. For example, he donated a monthly salary for the construction of a large Jewish museum in Moscow. And also maintains good relations with Russian immigrants in Israel.

The tightening of the tone of the supreme mullahs in Tehran, which demand the complete abolition of all sanctions, negates Obama’s efforts to establish peace. Iran’s growing enmity with the Arab League due to the situation in Yemen and Libya and the widening gap between the traditional Arab allies of the West and the United States aggravate the situation and increase the risk of the unstoppable nuclearization of the Middle East.

Instead of stomping his foot as an accompanying gesture to his sermon, the American president should finally realize that it will be difficult to avoid sending soldiers to this territory to fight against ISIS.