US tries to draw the line as Israel dances towards inevitable capitulation and Iran waits

Alameen Templeton

What’s this? The United States talking up Hezbollah’s missile barrage against Israel at the weekend! Saying it “decreased tensions” in Arabia? Have the “ayatollahs” taken over America?

“The near-term risk of a broader war in the Middle East has eased somewhat after Israel and Hezbollah exchanged fire (in response to the Zionist assassination of its senior military commander, Martyr Fouad Shokor) without further escalation” is how Reuters is reporting it – as an “EXCLUSIVE” story – Tuesday.

It seems Israel’s air bombardment at the weekend that occurred before or after the barrage depending on who you speak to was a show of protest against the line the US seems to be trying to draw behind the scenes.

The responses Tuesday after Monday passed quietly and the weekend echoes had faded away indicate Israel’s generals were given a dressing down at the weekend Cairo “peace talks” that starred them and the US team only.

Hamas had made it clear it had no role to play in the pantomime. Either, Israel was going to be held accountable to commitments it made at previous peace talks, or there was no purpose in continuing, it said.

Its stubborn absence, despite threats and cajoling, seems to have driven a message home, in the US at least. The Israeli representatives – David Barnea, the head of Mossad, as well as Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar and General Nitzan Alon – heard the message loud and clear.

Translating the whispers and later developments, it seems that message was: Allow Hezbollah and Iran a ritual, diplomatic retaliation to save face after Israel’s assassination antics that also took the life of Ismail Haniyeh and then … and then … what?

That final detail still remains unclear.

If the above “translation” is correct, it means the US has assured Iran that a ceasefire is “definitely” coming.

US promises in Arabia by now mean nothing, but perhaps Teheran perceives a glimmer of credibility in America’s latest assurances under the prodding of a thunderous missile retaliation.

Perhaps, the US explained to Israel’s generals they could not expect Israel’s allies to line up obediently every time the Mossad planning unit conceived of another “cunning” murder plot.

So, the Israeli airstrikes against Hezbollah missile launchers around the same time as the barrage was due to take place appears to have been either a show of defiance, of “Israeli independence”, or the last kick of a dying dog.

The US made it clear it was not notified of, nor did it participate in, the airstrikes that reportedly cost Israel $120million and did little more than make harmless holes in open ground.

So, the Ben Gvirs, the homicidal settlers of the West Bank, the killer soldierboys hunkered down in Gaza, mothers praying for the safety of their stormtrooper sons and other hairy species of the Israeli right-wing ecosystem have been placated – Israel’s thirst for blood remains as strong as ever.

The airstrikes may have been an empty statement delaying an inevitable and unavoidable capitulation to global demands for decency.

But, again, the line the Americans may or may not be drawing behind the scenes might disappear tomorrow.

Will the Americans push Israel all the way to ceasefire corner or are they simply trying to build enough doubt in the minds of “Uncommitted” supporters of the Democrat party to push Kamala Harris over the Oval Office line?

US November election are still three months away. It will be a hard sell for the US to hold up an act for three months, but then, Joe Biden did it for ten months, so anything is possible.

The generals in Teheran will be asking themselves the same questions, so America’s actions and Israel’s responses over the coming days and weeks are going to be key.