Considering that US support for the occupying regime no longer serves strategic US interests, a senior former US national security official thinks Washington needs to reevaluate its relations with Israel.
Steven Simon, a former senior director for the Middle East and North Africa at the National Security Council, makes the case in a new book called “Grand Delusion: The Rise and Fall of American Ambition in the Middle East” that the administration of US President Joe Biden needs to “reconsider” its relationship with Tel Aviv.
Simon suggests that the current state of US-Israel relations is comparable to “empty-nest syndrome,” implying that the US finds it challenging to give up its long-standing support for Israel.
“It’s an empty-nest syndrome,” Simon asserts, underscoring the US reluctance to reassess its relations with Israel. As a parent, it can be very frustrating when your children leave the nest and hang out with the wrong crowd. It can also be challenging to learn to let go.”
The former security official contends that US policy in the West Asia region “needs to be reconsidered” because it has largely remained unchanged under various administrations.”
The disagreement between Washington and Tel Aviv over the purported judicial overhaul, as well as the emergence of an extreme far-right government in Israel, according to Simon, have furthered the notion that relations between the two countries are a “tipping point.”
He emphasizes that the US has gradually diminished in influence over the years, saying, “What we’re looking at now goes back to the 1930s at least. Currently, a sizable amount of chickens are coming home to roost.”
In his latest book, Simon makes the case that the US should prioritize its internal issues while redefining its policy toward West Asia.
In reference to upcoming relations between Washington and Tel Aviv, Simon foresees a widening rift between Israel and the US Democratic Party, claiming that Israel would lose the enduring support of both parties.
Since Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s hardline coalition cabinet took office in the occupied territories last year, relations between the two longtime allies appear to have deteriorated significantly.
Recently, Washington has voiced concern over a number of Tel Aviv policies, including its intention to radically reform the regime’s judicial system and to increase the number of illegal settlements throughout the occupied territories.
