They Are All Saakashvili

Israel's involvement in the Georgian adventure against Russia raises too many questions. Why did Israel upset Moscow which facilitated and continues to facilitate Jewish movement and migration, while turning a blind eye to the affluent Jews and the mafia gangs they head? Why did it prefer a small nation in the Caucasus to a major power on its way to regain its international role?

Anshel Pfeffer wrote in Haaretz that "Israel wanted to play a central role in Georgia. Ostensibly, this was a perfect opportunity. A pro-Western government that controls a central oil transport junction, with senior officials who are Jewish and were even educated in Israel, and an army thirty for Israeli weapons and knowledge. On top of all that, our American ally was also a partner in the Georgian project."

The author adds to depict Georgian charms saying, "Many diplomatic and business opportunities opened there, and battalions of former generals, diligent entrepreneurs and middlemen quickly swooped down on them." However, "Now as the Russian media is emphasizing Israel's contribution to the Georgian aggression, the Israeli Foreign Ministry is suddenly quick to mention that it always has warned against the wholesale weapons export permits issued by the Defense Ministry. Our friend Mikheil Saakashvili, who was supposed to bring the two nations' partnership to new heights of cooperation, has now become a 'crazy provocateur,' who can blame only himself for playing into Vladimir Putin's hands. The West's impotence in the face of the Russian attack....Israel has bet on the wrong horse and is trying to limit its damage which may turn out to be particularly serious as swiftly as possible."

Pfeffer's description of the Israeli "sweeping down" on the opportunities in Georgia reveals the truth about Israeli behavior whenever opportunities emerge for their entrepreneurs and military officers. However, it does not offer an answer to the strategic questions that a state such as Israel should ask before forging its alliances. To say that Georgia has Jewish ministers, consultants and entrepreneurs does not justify involvement in an adventure with known outcomes, especially since the Jewish state has always sacrificed Jews throughout its history to serve its basic interests in the Middle East. What then is the story?

The fact of the matter is that Israel borrows American muscles to act as a major power, encouraged by the retreat of the opposite project and by the Arab alliance with the American friend. It is this that prevented it from learning its lessons in Lebanon since its involvement in this country's civil wars, its withdrawal in 2000, and its failure to achieve its goals during the 2006 July War.

Most importantly, the "American friend" itself has not grasped yet the major transformations that took place across the world since the collapse of the Soviet Union. Among these transformations is that Russia is no longer the Russia of Boris Yeltsin and that Europe which has shed the burdens of ideology is now seeking partnership with Moscow to ensure its stability, not to mention that it lacks the capability and desire for military confrontation.

European calculations are based on a founded experience and differ from the calculations of America's adventurous friends in Israel, Lebanon, Ethiopia, and Latin America. Those do not learn from experiences. They rush to wars and defend Washington's interests, as they misleadingly think that those are their interests and that the sole superpower will not give up on them. They are all Saakashvilis.