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Source: http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Editors-Notes-Where-are-we-going-474884
Why Is the Middle East So Disappointed with the U.S.?
(Jerusalem Post) Yaakov Katz - A former top U.S. official told me a story that is making the rounds in Washington. A few months ago, an Arab state in the Persian Gulf received intelligence about an arms ship that was scheduled to leave Iran on its way to Yemen to arm rebel Houthi forces. The Gulf state decided to pass the intelligence on to the Americans and gave them the ship details, the weapons and the timetable. As the days passed, nothing seemed to be happening. So the Gulf state decided to go with an alternative plan and passed the information to the Mossad, Israel's foreign intelligence service. Israel reportedly took the tip seriously and warned Iran that if the ship set sail it would be stopped. As a result, the ship never left Iran. I don't know if the story is true, but it accurately reflects the frustration with the U.S. throughout the Middle East, a feeling shared by Israel, Egypt, Jordan and most of the Arab countries in the Gulf.