I was thinking about this earlier today: Ukraine has survived the proxy war because it is totally dependent on US and European aid. Without it Russia would have crushed it pretty quickly. At the beginning of the war most Americans bought into Biden’s determination that the aid would be provided “as much and as long as it takes.” Two years later we’ve discovered we’re aren’t the sugar daddy we thought we were, we seem to be taking a bigger economic hit than Russia, much to our amazement, and everybody is now looking for a way out of the morass without another Afghanistan-like humiliation, and we’ll probably cut Ukraine loose at some point. Now Biden says “For as long as we can.” When we decide we no longer can Ukraine will crumble.
In many ways the “Israeli situation” is much the same. Absent total US backing Israel would be overrun and cease to exist. We have this notion of what awesome fighters they are, but the truth is they wouldn’t be what they are without overwhelming technological support and backing of the US, both militarily and diplomatically. To be honest since Hezbollah tossed them out on their ear in 2000 as they retreated with their tail between their legs they have been very reluctant to fight anyone with the capability to fight back, convincing themselves of their invincibility because they can knock Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank around. It’s a common bully tactic. But then shock sets in when they suffer a few defeats of their own.
It is taking us a long time to understand but the rest of the world has grown tired of out bullying tactics and are beginning to band together against us. They have been beat down by us to the point they don’t care what we say anymore and are no longer afraid of us. There’s another thread concerned with South Africa being an Iranian proxy. I don’t think SA considers itself to be an Iranian proxy so much as a potential ally. I have been harping about BRICS and the uniting of the Global South against American hegemony for quite a while, only to be dismissed as being naive, the assumption being that we’ve been the hegemon most of our lifespans so it’s unthinkable that could end. Some of us may be in for a big shock sooner rather than later. At some point we’ll need to cut Israel loose just like Ukraine if we want to maintain any standing in global politics. The longer we finance Palestinian genocide at the hands of the Israelis the sooner the rest of the world will be so disgusted that it turns the table and turns us loose.
