Do They Have Any Idea Where They’re Going?
Washington Watch
April 22, 2024
Dr. James J. Zogby ©
President
Arab American Institute
One Sunday afternoon, my father-in-law was on the Long Island Expressway driving the family to an event. With surprisingly little traffic on what would ordinarily be a congested highway, they were cruising along at a good speed. At one point, my mother-in-law asked, “Dear, do you have any idea where you’re going?” He chuckled and replied, “No, but we’re making good time.”
Everyone laughed. And since that time, “I have no idea where we’re going, but we’re making good time” became an expression used in our family to describe a variety of situations in which people were sailing along blindly and directionless. In some cases, it was harmless. In others, the results were disastrous.
I have used that expression to describe George W. Bush’s war in Iraq or Obama’s bombings in Libya. Today, it also can be applied to Israel’s relentless devastation of Gaza and its reckless and provocative confrontation with Iran.
In these situations, and so many others like them, I recall the oft-cited but never followed “Powell Doctrine,” which in essence cautions against starting a war in which you don’t know the cost, consequences, terms of engagement, or have an end and exit strategy in sight.
A recent article noted that after October 7th, in addition to pledging US support for Israel, President Joseph Biden cautioned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to make the mistake the US made after 9/11. He advised Netanyahu not to allow rage to blind him to consequences or violence to create more hatred. It was his way of expressing the principles at the heart of the Powell Doctrine. (Note: It was ironic that Powell himself violated this doctrine in the lead up to the Iraq war and the consequences of that disaster are with us to this day).
Six months after Biden’s caution, it’s clear both that Netanyahu didn’t listen and that Biden didn’t demand a satisfactory answer. Israel has killed over 34,000 Palestinians and wounded more than twice that many. They’ve destroyed most of Gaza’s buildings and infrastructure, reducing entire cities to rubble. And they’ve rightly been accused of committing genocide and creating imminent famine. Yet, despite the US’ feeble prodding, we continue to provide Israel with support to continue on its way.
Israeli commentators are increasingly saying that even with the enormity of the death and destruction they have created, Israel has lost this war. They haven’t defeated Hamas. If anything, they’ve helped to launch Hamas 2.0. Hatred for Israel has increased exponentially not only among Palestinians and across the Arab World, but also globally. And Israel still has no idea how this nightmare they’ve created can end and what advantage has been served by the damage they’ve done and the hatred they have sown. And yet they continue.
For months now, President Biden has been asking Israel my mother-in-law’s question: “Do you have any idea where you’re going?” They framed it differently, asking Netanyahu about his “end game” or “the day after.” Because they didn’t demand an answer or threaten to withhold support unless a satisfactory response was forthcoming, Israel continued speeding along to nowhere. To change metaphors, the hole got deeper and yet they kept digging.
Simultaneous with its relentless assault on Palestinians, Israel has been steadily poking at Iran— with covert assassinations and bombings in the country and provocative attacks against Iranians in Syria—leading to Iran’s dangerous telegraphed response last weekend. And now, Israel’s promise to retaliate. Once again, the question must be asked: “Do you have any idea where you’re going?”
There is a persistent flaw in Arab thinking about Israel and the US. Too often, Arab commentators have assumed that both countries know exactly what they’re doing and have a grand design behind their seemingly irrational actions. In part, this attitude of projecting rationality on what is objectively irrational behavior is born of an inferiority complex. It is assumed that the West is smarter than it is and always calculating. This thinking often gives birth to wild conspiracy theories. In reality, more often than not, both Israel and the US act based on nothing more than the fact that they want to act and have the ability to do so, with no plan or thought as to the ultimate consequences.
The danger posed by this behavior, if left unchecked, is clear and leads to the following conclusion. If the US is unwilling or unable to act like the adult in the room and restrain either Israel or itself, then other nations must act. Instead of letting Israel run amok and allowing both it and Iran to create havoc and the danger of a wider war in the Middle East, intervention is needed. Other nations both in the region and globally need to ask my mother-in-law’s question: “Do you have any idea where you’re going?” And if a suitable answer isn’t forthcoming, they must demand that the car be stopped and keys surrendered—before we all end up going over the cliff.
