Netanyahu Using Smoke and Mirrors Like a Wizard

Author: Phil Butler

Region: Middle East

Country: Israel

Every time I think of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu I cannot help visualizing a famous scene from the classic film “The Wizard of Oz.” You know the one where Dorothy’s little dog Toto runs behind the curtain to reveal the real power of Emerald City. And just like in the film, Bibi Netanyahu is pushing buttons and pulling levers, creating smoke and fire, even after he’s been found out. Or maybe because his crimes were discovered…

Israel just won the Eurovision Song Contest with one-upmanship over previous nonsensical performances. I cannot help but wonder how much that victory cost, since everything “Israeli” these days seems to cost somebody something. What kind of levers did Oz pull to shoe in utter mediocrity into an entertainment show Israel should not even be part of? However that win came about, I’m certain Netanyahu’s avoidance of charges for bribery and graft will be even costlier. My point here being, the leader of the little nation in the middle of Palestine seems to me to be in big trouble, and trying everything humanly possible to divert the public’s attention away from his “behind the curtain” conjuring. With fully 60% of the Israeli voting public expecting his resignation if he’s indicted on charges, Netanyahu is off to Moscow and waging war on Iran. I wonder if anybody else sees this circus the way I do? Let’s tug at that Oz curtain.

Since President Donald Trump took office, Israel’s leader has managed to make Jerusalem the Jewish capital of the world. Come on, you know it’s the reality. Since Donald Trump became president, Israel was caught handing over cash, food, and medical attention to Syrian rebels attempting to overthrow Assad – but nobody cared. Since Donald Trump took up residence in the White House, Israel has been pumping influence and cash into the establishment of an independent Kurdish state. And after Donald Trump became America’s most controversial president ever, the United States establish the first permanent military base on Israeli soil. There’s more, but my point should be made.

We can examine any of these moves I’ve associated with the Trump administration, but the most telling one is the air-defense facility put in operation back in September of 2017. The base in the heart of Israel’s Negev Desert is important for many reasons, but mostly because it is manned by U.S. military personnel. Situated inside the Israeli Air Force’s Mashabim Air Base, the American contingent form an effective shield against Iranian or Syrian attacks on Israel’s most vital air base. Elements of the US 10th Army Air & Missile Defense Command are now serving as human shields to protect the base from attacks. This proves to be an interesting element of strategy given recent events, especially if Iran were determined to counterstrike Israel after the much publicized IDF strikes last week. More importantly, it seems the Israeli-US strategic thinkers may have pre-planned the current confrontation with Iran. But there’s still more.

Few people realize the significance of Mashabim Air Base and the United States setting a permanent base inside an IDF base. Just down the road from Mashabim is the home to “Israel’s nuclear reactor and the “not openly acknowledged” nuclear warhead arsenal. (PDF)” So, in the event of a likely Iranian counterattack to negate Israel sending nukes to attack Tehran, these preemptive moves by the US and Israelis add a new complexity to analyzing Middle East policy. The Trump-Netanyahu connections I’ve outlined previously, and they are no secret. But let’s return to Bibi and his nightmarish wonderland moves. A lead in paragraph from 972 Magazine seals indemnifies my contentions here:

“Netanyahu appears to have inoculated himself against looming corruption charges due to the dramatic developments on the security front. As war with Iran looms, why does the old formula work so well?”

Then he flies to Moscow to sit beside Putin on May 9th. The man who proclaims shooting unarmed civilians with sniper rifles “God’s will,” assumes the role of high-priest – an untouchable backed by the almighty globalists. Now all Israel is ready to forgive the man behind the curtain, as if he were really the Wizard of Oz of Emerald City. Unfortunately for the rest of us, this wizard is not so gracious as to spirit us back to Kansas in a balloon. This wizard would as soon see us blasted to hell rather than face charges of corruption.

Phil Butler, is a policy investigator and analyst, a political scientist and expert on Eastern Europe, he’s an author of the recent bestseller “Putin’s Praetorians” and other books. He writes exclusively for the online magazine “New Eastern Outlook.”
   

https://journal-neo.org/2018/05/15/netanyahu-using-smoke-and-mirrors-like-a-wizard/