The U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan will make that country a hotbed for terrorism. That’s the assessment a group of high-ranking Israeli military officials said.
The letter comes as the Taliban is holding parades with U.S. Military equipment abandoned by the Biden administration.
NOW – Taliban "special forces" parade with U.S.-made weapons in Zabul Province, southeast #Afghanistan. pic.twitter.com/hRXnnBpKGT
— Disclose.tv (@disclosetv) August 20, 2021
A defense and security forum, representing roughly 2,400 current and former Israeli military and security officials, published an open letter to Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett on Wednesday. The letter urged Bennett to rebuff President Joe Biden’s push for a new nuclear deal with Iran. The security officials cited the ongoing chaos in Afghanistan as an example of U.S. failures in the Middle East.
“In the last few weeks, there has been a significant shift in the Middle East geopolitical landscape with deep-ranging implications and long-term consequences for Israel,” the letter said. “The U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan and the swift dominance of the Taliban have highlighted the failures of current approaches to diplomacy and military strategy. Absent a new way of thinking, these radical, terrorist factions will only grow and bolster the extremists within the Palestinian and Israeli Arabs as well as the Iranian people.”
Bennett is scheduled to hold his first meeting with Biden as prime minister on Thursday in Washington, D.C. Bennett is expected to press Biden against striking a new deal with Iran, arguing any deal similar to former President Barack Obama’s Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action would pave way for Iran to develop a nuclear weapon while appearing to work with Western powers. Bennett’s government has already voiced strong opposition to such a deal.
“Israel and the U.S. must stop the dated monolithic approach to the Middle East and more particularly, to the Israel-Palestinian conflict,” the letter said. “Withdrawal and retreat. Those are the stale options that career politicians have been espousing since 1967. They allow for factions like the Taliban to seize control and brutalize their people. Every place we retreat from becomes a hotbed of terror. It happened in Gaza with Hamas, and it happened in Afghanistan with the Taliban.”
News coverage of the Biden surrender of Afghanistan to the Taliban has captivated the Israeli public with virtual 24/7 news coverage of the decision and repercussions.
–Anita Widaman | Metro Voice
