The school of thought "the enemy of my enemy is my ally" guides US policy toward Iran in 2014, and guided its policy toward Saddam Hussein - Iran's enemy - until his invasion of Kuwait in 1990.
Policy towards Saddam It led to a conventional conflict, damage of a trillion and a quarter dollars to the US, approximately 4,500 American casualties, the escalation of Islamic terrorism, and the destabilization of the Persian Gulf. Policy towards Iran Could ignite a nuclear conflict, mega-trillions of dollars in damage, an unprecedented scale of casualties, a tsunami of Islamic terrorism, and destabilization around the world.
In 1989-90, with the end of the Iran-Iraq War, the US treated Saddam – the enemy of the US enemy, Iran – as an ally, upgrading his capabilities through an intelligence cooperation agreement, the supply of advanced systems for civilian and military use, and the granting of loan guarantees totaling $5 billion. Instead of suppressing Saddam’s megalomaniacal, violent ambitions, the US ignored his deep-rooted, anti-American ideology, which led to the Iran-Iraq War of 1980-88 and posed an existential threat to the pro-American Gulf states.
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The irresponsibility of the "enemy of my enemy is my ally" concept was emphasized in the words of the US ambassador to Baghdad, April Glaspie, for Saddam Hussein ("We are not involved in inter-Arab relations such as Iraq-Kuwait relations"), which convinced Saddam that he would not be punished for invading Kuwait. The occupation of Kuwait was a real threat to Saudi Arabia, and caused two Gulf Wars, in 1990 and 2003-2010, and perhaps even a third.
In 1993, Israel was deceived into believing that the PLO was "the enemy of my enemies (Hamas)," which was supposed to help fight Palestinian terrorism "without the restrictions of the High Court," in exchange for unprecedented concessions within the framework of the Oslo Accords. As expected, Israel fell victim to unprecedented Palestinian hate speech, incitement, and terrorism from Judea and Samaria and Gaza, including the 2003-2000 Intifada and the 2008/9, 2012, and 2014 wars in Gaza.
The school of thought "the enemy of my enemy is my ally" downplays fundamental characteristics of the ayatollah regime that took over the Shiite part of Iraq: the strength of the Shiite, racist, and imperialist vision; the perception of the United States as the devil and a major obstacle to realizing the vision; the intimate connection with the United States' enemies and rivals and support for jihadist terrorism; 30 years of Systematic violation of international obligations and President Rouhani's central role in leading the deception; The existential threat to the Gulf states; the cruelty and racism of the ayatollahs' minority rule; the limited usefulness of sanctions and diplomacy that give Iran precious time to achieve nuclear capability.
The assumption that "the enemy of my enemy is my ally" is the brainchild of The American foreign establishment is systematically mistaken in its understanding of the Middle East: Defining the "Arab tsunami" as an "Arab Spring" in transition to democracy; turning his back on Mubarak, supporting the "Muslim Brotherhood" and disavowing General Sisi; backing Hamas' takeover of Gaza in 2006; disparaging the centrality of hate education as a production line for terrorists and as an authentic expression of the leadership's worldview; recognizing Arafat and Mahmoud Abbas in 1988 and crowning them as harbingers of peace in 1993; courting Saddam Hussein; punishing Israel for destroying the nuclear reactor in Iraq in 1981, even though the US was spared a nuclear conflict in 1991; betraying the Persian Shah and aiding Khomeini; opposing Begin's peace initiative in 1977; and more.
Ignoring the fact that the ayatollah regime on the one hand, and the assumption that it is a potential ally of the US on the other, are one and the same, would be disastrous for the US and the entire world.
The article was published in "Israel Today".
