Hush: The tale of political survival

Repugnant as it was, Russia did declare the “intervention” into Ukraine. Hamas represents a faction in a stateless polity. Branded as a terrorist organization they didn’t need to prior declare their October 7, 2023 attack on Israel. And, as Israel exercised their “right to defend themselves,” they threw most aspects of international law to the winds. Their attack on Iran’s embassy compound in Syria wasn’t announced. Tel Aviv didn’t comment, neither did the US, though it’s hard to believe the two didn’t know what was going to happen.
Iran’s response, on the contrary, had been communicated to the United States through Turkey. In a way, this allowed Israel and its allies to take down most of the 300 drones and missiles fired bringing to light a terrible reality. These projectiles from Tel Aviv to Tehran and vice-versa were blessed by acquiescence of all three countries serving the dual purpose of convincing the electorate of the two countries and ensuring defensive preparations were in place. In between, countries that are essentially buffers between Israel and Iran had to sit and watch killing devices cross their airspace, whereas air sovereignty demanded interception.
According to official and media reports there were no or minimal human casualties, making a mockery of the so-called precision strikes that Israel was to have exercised in their venture into Gaza. Deaths and injuries there have reached over 100,000, mostly women and children. The lip service of the US and UK hasn’t condemned this -- the narrative has been limited to “unfortunate.” Compare that with the comments emanating after every mind-dead individual goes on a shooting spree in the US or Russia and knife attacks in Australia. It would appear that these, along with the plight of starving Somalians and Yemenis, form a different chapter of humanity that the West is eager to turn the page on.
In bits and pieces sovereign countries are fast becoming conduits of vassal institutions. Syria, a ruin of a failed state, has no integrity whatsoever with Russia able to do what it wants with them; Hezbollah free to reign, and when needed, the US free to send sophisticated aircraft flying through her air. Sooner (if Donald Trump prevails) than later, Syria’s Golan Heights will be gifted to Israel.
Lebanon, on its haunches economically, has a government in place with no control over Hezbollah -- the defined proxy of Iran that needles away at Israel. The once proud Iraq has no say in any matters with factions squabbling over power sharing. No wonder that even with US bases there, little was done to blunt Iran’s offensive at the outset. Instead, combined action by the US, France, Jordan, and the UK took place to blunt the offensive only when the threat to Israel was finally imminent.
Everyone is on tenterhooks about the tit-for-tat between two countries that are many miles apart. The countries bordering Iran or Israel don’t find any cause to go to the United Nations for any redress -- the organization’s toothless position is best exemplified by its Secretary General’s exhortation that sounded so lacklustre. Any broad regional conflict would be disastrous economically and in terms of human cost.
Laughable as it is, the Israeli response to Iran is now being downplayed. Israel hasn’t admitted it and Iran doesn’t acknowledge it as if to ludicrously suggest the Isfahan attack was the act of local terrorists. No one is daring to report on whether the projectiles headed to Iran were tracked by the super-efficient tracking systems in place.
At the end of the day it now seems that the United States is being dragged further economically if not with boots on the ground into funding a massive $61 billion aid package for Ukraine and another $22bn for Israel. This would bring the US contribution to the Ukraine war to more than $100bn. Israel’s share would add to the $4bn it gets annually. So much for bravado and self-prestige. In pure black and white, Israel is as much a vassal, merely a glorified version.
Volodomir Zelensky has raised the tenor in saying without more armaments the dangers of World War III are around the corner. If war was just about armaments that would hold true. After nearly $200bn dollars Ukraine still appears to have the manpower and resolve. That’s unusual for a country that, prior to the war, was reviled for being out-and-out corrupt.
With Ukraine as with Israel, the wars have ensured one thing, the political survival of its two leaders. That comes at the cost of death, mutilation -- and lest it fall through the cracks -- the economy. So much for the vaunted Western economic pundits that said Russia couldn’t survive a protracted war!
Mahmudur Rahman is a writer, columnist, broadcaster, and communications specialist.