Shlomo Ben-Ami has put into words ideas that sensible people have been advocating for some time now. That is, to diffuse the tense situation in the Middle East, the powers involved in that game should do first thing first, and then consider the other issues.
So, he tells what the first
thing ought to be. He says it is for America to drop all sanctions against Iran
in return for the latter getting back into compliance with the provisions of the
nuclear deal. It's as simple as that.
Well, it may be simple to say
it, but Ben-Ami recognizes that the events of the last four years have
needlessly unfolded in a way that bruised both sides. He accepts that for this
reason and maybe others too, each side has developed a group of local
hardliners who oppose talking to the other side, let alone hammer a deal with
them. And he can imagine that as a result, it will be difficult to achieve the
first step.
Still, both sides wish to have
a deal, says Ben-Ami, because there is no alternative except to maintain the
current chaotic situation or contemplate the unthinkable worse –– neither of
which is acceptable. Therefore, he predicts that the two sides will reach an
understanding, and will find a way to realize that first step.
This done, says Shlomo
Ben-Ami, the antagonists should then embark on the second step. It is to turn
their attention to such matters as Iran's missile program––which scares the
immediate neighbors and those further away––and the country's support for
militant proxies throughout the region. He foresees a meeting of all the
stakeholders in that conflict who will come to discuss these matters, most
likely without Israel.
The attendees will debate and
try to resolve the day-to-day issues preoccupying them at this time, he says.
And given that even the oil producing nations, have plans to engage in the
construction of nuclear power stations, they might also wish to discuss ways to
prevent the proliferation of non-peaceful nuclear uses. In fact, this is an
urgent issue that has been on the table for several years but was going nowhere
for reasons that will be discussed in a moment.
As to Israel, Ben-Ami suggests
that it will be left to America to rein-in that most belligerent of entities.
To take away any excuse Israel might have to torpedo the efforts made toward
peace, Shlomo Ben-Ami urges the Biden administration to look into Israel's real
and imagined security concerns, and find ways to alleviate them if need be.
This should take into account, most especially, the threats that Israel sees
coming from Syria and Lebanon, says Ben-Ami.
Will this work? It should
because Ben-Ami has made a distinction between the Arab nations and Iran being
the side that seeks a peaceful resolution of the issues without placing
conditions, and Israel being the side which seeks peace only if it comes
attached to out-of-this-world conditions that no one can deliver. It must be
that Ben-Ami is aware that as long as Israel can count on America supporting it
unconditionally, it will seek to impose impossible conditions on everything so
as to maintain the status quo at perpetuity.
And so, when you consider the
behavior of the Iranians and the Arabs, you'll find these people to be
reasonable and pleasant to work with. In fact, Iran did reach an agreement with
the P5+1 nations, going about the negotiations the civilized way. As to the
Arab countries, they have friendly relations in and out the UN with just about
everyone because everybody loves to work with them.
This punctures the lie
concerning the rumors about the Arabs rejecting the idea of America pivoting
out of the Middle East, and warning that this will cause the region to sink
into chaos and mayhem. The truth is that as long as America is providing them with
a defensive umbrella, they'll consider the superpower a sugar daddy that keeps
on giving. They'll welcome him near them till he decides to move on to other
tasks.
What all this boils down to is
that a reasonable America has a good chance to sit with the reasonable Arabs
and Iranians, and hammer a solution for the problems of the region. All this
can happen provided that America keeps Israel under control and out of the
loop.
America should then disclose
what it knows about the nuclear work that Israel has done since the French gave
it a nuclear reactor in the Fifties. This disclosure will open the door for
Israel to join the talks, and agree at long last, to make the MENA region free
of nuclear weapons.
In fact, achieving this
milestone, will make it eminently possible for America to negotiate a worldwide
non-proliferation treaty, with the approval and cooperation of such countries
as North Korea and whomever might be thinking they need the protection of the
bomb to guarantee their survival.
So then, how can the Biden
administration take this idea, make it better, and run with it till it resolves
what were thought to be intractable problems of the Middle East that could
never be resolved peacefully?
The answer to that question is hidden in what Shlomo Ben-Ami has alluded to: The secret lies in restraining wild Israel. Keep that thing under control, and the world will climb in a rising spiral to a more civilized state of existence.