Bernard Avishai has written a short essay for the New Yorker that fleshes out the political dynamics behind Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu’s decision to appoint Avigdor Lieberman as his Defense Minister. Apparently the move came after attempts by Tony Blair, the former British Prime Minister, to resuscitate the peace process between the Israelis and the Palestinians collapsed. In trying to secure the support of the most right-wing members of the settler movement, Prime Minister Netanyahu has succeeded in alienating the Israeli army, unquestionably the most revered element of Israeli society.
The US and NATO have announced plans to deploy an anti-missile system in Poland and Romania, ostensibly to protect Europe from Iranian missiles. Such a threat is hard to imagine despite the fact that Iran has been testing ballistic missiles–there seems to be no reason why Iran would be contemplating an attack against European states. Russia, on the other hand, considers the deployment an attempt to cancel out Russia’s strategic arsenal as leverage over Europe. Russian President Putin made clear his concerns about the deployment:
“If yesterday in those areas of Romania people simply did not know what it means to be in the cross-hairs, then today we will be forced to carry out certain measures to ensure our security….It will be the same case with Poland.”
The threat was explicit and it will be interesting to see how these two states respond.
Iran and Saudi Arabia have failed to come to an agreement on Hajj travel this year. The Hajj is the fifth pillar of Islam and all Muslims who are physically and financially able are required to visit the city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia and to perform several rituals including circling the Ka’abah in the Holy Mosque seven times counter clockwise. Saudi Arabia and Iran broke off relations last year after hundreds of Iranians died during the Hajj and Iranians stormed the Saudi Embassy after Saudi Arabia executed a Shia cleric. The inability of Iranians to make the Hajj is a very serious matter.
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World Politics News 
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