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Israeli Strategic Challenges and Opportunities in the New Year
(Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies-Bar-Ilan University) Maj. Gen. (ret.) Yaakov Amidror - The most prominent change in the global theater is the growing feeling within the international community that the United States is slowly backing away from its role as the free world's leader. As a result, countries that in the past were wary of antagonizing the U.S. for fear of retaliation are now seeing its reluctance to intervene globally as their chance to improve their position and to aggressively promote their interest. Iran has made it perfectly clear that what little has changed in its nuclear policies will not affect other areas, and that it will continue to support Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime, and arm Hizbullah and Hamas. It remains committed to eradicating the "Zionist entity," as well as to establish its hegemony over the "Shiite Crescent," stretching from Tehran through Baghdad to Damascus and Beirut. Despite President Obama's determination to annihilate Islamic State, and some partial coalition successes against IS, overall the effort thus far has proven ineffective. Various terrorist groups in Nigeria, the Sinai Peninsula, Asia and Libya have affiliated themselves with Islamic State this year, allowing it to gain momentum, and fueling its desire to expand. The writer served as National Security Adviser to the Prime Minister, head of the National Security Council, and head of the research division of IDF Intelligence.