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Experts View Israel's Response to a U.S. Pullout from Syria

(Carnegie Middle East Center-Lebanon) According to Robert Satloff, executive director of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, after the U.S. withdrawal from Syria, the Israelis will continue to strike hard against any Iranian effort to establish a military industrial base in Syria, to transfer advanced weaponry to the country, or through it to Hizbullah, or to advance its forces or militias close to Israel's border. While the U.S. decision to quit Syria is significant, it does not alter the trajectory of U.S. policy, nor Israel's strategic calculus. Elliott Abrams, former U.S. deputy national security advisor, said Israel will continue and even increase its actions against Iran in Syria. It's clear that Russian President Vladimir Putin does not object to such attacks because he does not want to see Syria fall entirely under Iranian control. Moreover, now the U.S. will no longer be there to counsel Israeli restraint. In addition, the U.S. departure will persuade many Arab states that Israel is an invaluable ally against Iran, which will lead to even closer (though still mostly secret) collaboration between them and Israel. Moreover, the U.S. departure will remind Israelis that in the end not even the Americans are a wholly reliable ally, and therefore they must defend themselves by themselves.
2019-01-10 00:00:00
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