Secret Protocols of Putin’s Talks in Israel
Israel's Plan for
Syria: Somalisation
By Israel Shamir
Israel
retains its ability to control the Syrian 'Islamist'
rebels. Netanyahu is not worried about Syria's possible
disintegration. Despite the received wisdom claiming
that Israelis prefer a stable and familiar Assad to the
great unknown of Islamic guerrillas, the new and
sensational information we received points out to the
opposite, namely: Israelis prefer the Somalisation of
Syria, its break-up and the elimination of its army, as
this will allow them to tackle Iran unopposed.
This is implied in a secret file recently leaked by a
person(s) apparently close to the Israeli Minister of
Foreign Affairs Avigdor Lieberman. It contains a record
of conversations between Bibi Netanyahu, Avigdor
Lieberman and Russian President Vladimir Putin during
the latter's recent visit to Israel. Israelis seem to
have no doubts about its authenticity. Counterpunch
received the original file, and here are the
highlights of this conversation (in our translation from
Hebrew):
●
Netanyahu asked Putin to facilitate Bashar Assad's
departure. “You can appoint his successor, and we shall
not object , said the Israeli Prime Minister. “There is
one condition – the successor must break with Iran».
●
Putin responded: we have no candidate for Bashar's
successor. Do you?
●
No, we don't, replied Netanyahu, but we shall tell you
our preference soon.
Apparently, Israel can influence the rebels, inasmuch as
it can bear on them to accept a successor acceptable to
Tel Aviv. This means that the rebels' chain of command
goes beyond unruly field commanders, beyond Qatar and
Saudi Arabia, beyond Paris and Washington, all the way
to Israel. It is well known that the rebels
seek friendship
with Israel, but nobody thought that Israel was able to
control them to such an extent.
It stands to reason that Netanyahu had received a green
light from Washington to make such an offer. This means
that the US and Israel do not mind that Syria will
remain in the Russian sphere of influence, so long as it
cuts its ties with Iran. And this points to Israel as
being the moving force behind the rebels, for otherwise,
such an arrangement would be unacceptable for the
Americans.
However, it is possible that Netanyahu's offer was just
a ploy to discover Russian intentions. Anyway Putin
thought so, and answered in a similar vein:
●
“We are not beholden to Assad,” said Putin. “Before the
rebellion, he was a frequent visitor in Paris rather
than in Moscow. We have no secret agenda regarding
Syria. I asked President Obama, what are the US
intentions in Syria; why do Americans reject Assad. Is
it because of his inability to come to terms with
Israel? Or because of his ties with Iran? Because of his
position on Lebanon? I received no serious answer. Our
reason, said Obama, is Assad's violent repression of the
Syrian people. I replied that violence is caused by
Qatar and Saudi interference.”
One understands that Putin is befogged: if he has been
offered keeping Syria in the Russian sphere, why does
the US goes out against Syrian government? Perhaps, the
US is doing Israel's bidding? And what are Israel's
intentions?
●
“Israel’s goal is the Somalisation of Syria, following
the Somalisation of Iraq,” said Putin, and Netanyahu did
not deny his interpretation.
These hard words of Putin answer the question of the US
and Israeli intentions. This was the position of Israeli
strategist Yinon and of the Neocons – Somalisation of
the region. Israeli leaders still follow their high-risk
short-term strategy of unleashing civil war in Syria,
removing Assad and turning Syria into a mess of armed
groups that would not interfere with Israeli jets
reaching Iran. It is certainly risky, as it was risky to
attack Lebanon in 2006, but Israel has such a powerful
militarist complex that it needs to take otherwise
unneeded risks.
The record of the Putin-Netanyahu conversation contains
two important Russian concessions to Israel: Putin
promised to break their contract about supply of S-300
anti-aircraft missile complexes to Damascus (and so he
did) and to stop missile information leakage to
Hezbollah.
Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman used the
meeting to complain about the audacious RT channel:
●
“The Israeli office of the RT outpours anti-Israeli
propaganda. They broadcast talks with Hasan Nasrallah
[probably a reference to Julian Assange's interview]. We
spoke to the RT reporters privately, but they won’t
budge, citing instructions from Moscow. Vladimir
Vladimirovitch [Putin], please lean on the editorial
policy of the RT so it will become objective towards
Israel.”
This complaint fits well with Israeli practice of
pressuring foreign media. Recently the Israeli
ambassador to Washington attempted to interfere with CBS
and censor Bob Simon's
report
on Palestinian Christians, causing much
resentment
in the US. Israelis still can’t get used to the
existence of a relatively free press.
The main conclusion of the leaked protocols is that
Israeli leaders retained their love to live dangerously.
While some other countries, notably Russia, are seeking
stability, Israelis love play, and power play. Nothing
risked, nothing gained, they say. They are ready to
accept short term risks for long term gains. And
elimination of the Syrian army is certainly a long term
gain for Israel.
PS This record was confirmed by
Haaretz reporters, see
RT tweets.