OPINION:
Israel is having to deal with many new realities. The past model of relying on the United States for its security has shown to be a flawed policy under the administration of Barack Obama who has been openly hostile to the interests of the Jewish state. Now, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is having to deal with the new reality of Russian control of the Middle East along with Russia’s new ally, the Islamic state of Iran, where the Obama administration has opened a path to acquire nuclear weapons. Iran is now routinely violating U.N. sanctions regarding the testing of missiles that can carry nuclear warheads, with no response from the White House.
Russia has established a beachhead in Syria, beyond its traditional naval base at Tartus, with the buildout of an air base near Latakia and additional forward operating bases for helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft near the front lines in the war against the Syrian opposition. The majority of Russian airstrikes are targeting forces opposing Syrian leader Assad. Russia is also dedicated a smaller percentage of its resources attacking ISIS and now is in coordination with France in that effort.
The new reality is that Russia is in the Middle East in a big way and this will not change in the foreseeable future, quite the opposite. In fact, Lithuania voiced concern recently that Russia is using the conflict in Syria to test and prove new weapons systems and tactics. These weapons and tactics could be turned against the former Soviet Baltic states which are now part of NATO. Russia and Iran are coordinating efforts in the region and Russia is supplying Iran with multiple new weapon systems including the S-300 anti-aircraft system as well as possibly T-90 tanks to replace the antique and obsolete armor of the Iranian military. Iran will soon have upwards of $100 billion to spend on weapons and its agenda in the Middle East thanks to the Iranian nuclear deal.
Israel has no choice but to deal with these new realities. The American military has, for the most part, left the region. Russia and Iran are the new game in town.
The Jerusalem Post reports today that Russian President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Netanyahu recently spoke on the phone to continue coordination in Syria and in the fight against terrorism. The Prime Minister’s Office put out a statement saying, “Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed in a phone conversation on Tuesday to continue their dialogue regarding the situation in Syria and other regional issues … the two leaders – who last met on the sidelines of the Paris climate conference at the end of last month—also discussed the war on terror, including on the Syrian front.”
The Kremlin put out a statement saying, “there is no alternative to the launch of intra-Syrian negotiations under the auspices of the United Nations, as well as to the continued and uncompromising fight against Islamic State and other extremist groups acting in Syria,” according to Reuters.
In September of this year, Mr. Netanyahu flew to Moscow to meet with Mr. Putin and coordinate operations between the Russian and Israeli military in Syria and beyond. This coordination and interaction with Russia will have to continue in the eyes of the Israelis as they now have no choice in the m atter.
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