The USA security architecture constructed around the security of Israel, and the protection of Arab allies in the Middle East particularly the ruling dynasties by the President George H.W. Bush in the early 1990 after expelling Iraqi forces from Kuwait by establishing a string of military bases in almost all the Gulf States with a Regional Central Command in Qatar, and a formidable Naval presence in Bahrain. The USA’s military omnipresence in the region created a strong impression of its political, strategic and diplomatic primacy. This security architecture remained unchallenged for over three decades – small setbacks to this predominance notwithstanding.  

This resulted in provocative and irritating situations: the foremost being strategic arrogance of Israel, and its military adventures. The second was the complacency of Arabs, and their weakening voice on the Palestinian issue. Although the USA pretended all along to support the resolution of the Palestinian issue by way of two nation state peacefully co-existing in the same land, it failed to deter Israel from expanding its de-facto borders by annexing the lands occupied in Arab-Israel wars, and expanding Jew settlements in the west bank in contravention of the UN resolutions. Its strategic intervention in the neighbouring countries remained unchallenged.   

Considering the USA support as a given, the Israeli leaders drifted away from the two-nation state resolution making it practically difficult – if not impossible. The US Presidents exercised a degree of control on Israeli leaders; this disciplining admonition started eroding from the reign of George W. Bush. The last USA leaders could not hold their grip on their leash. President Donald Trump remained excessively charmed by Benjamin Netanyahu. He emerged as a strong headed Arab basher. 

Under his stewardship, Israel followed a policy that aimed........

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