Weekly Commentary: Timely Reality Check May Have Saved Israel
Dr. Aaron Lerner 18 October, 2019

Anyone with a sense of history already knew that even an "iron clad" defense
pact would only be honored, when needed, if it served the interests of the
parties to the pact at that time.

I daresay that today pretty much every Israeli following the news
understands that.

And, by extension, most Israelis appreciate today that the same caveat
applies to the efficacy of any third party guarantees or monitoring.

This is a very important development that should hopefully impact not only
on Israel's response to the "Deal of the Century" but also any scheme that
co-opts regional players into arrangements on the ground this side of the
Jordan River.

There is a temptation to assert that businessman Trump has broken new ground
by introducing business norms into international relations. Taken to an
extreme that includes the business practice that under certain conditions a
deal maker is a winner even if the corporate entity created by the deal goes
bankrupt causing terrible losses to the investors.

But this is nothing new. After all, back in 1973 Henry Kissinger was
awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for bringing peace to Vietnam!
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