Our Wednesday News Analysis | US hubris has led to a Middle East quagmire

The deeper failure lies in Washington’s attempt to impose an outdated model of regional domination on the Middle East and a world that has fundamentally changed (Reuters)

Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Egypt last week provides one of numerous examples. “We must uphold the principle that the people of the Middle East are the masters of their own affairs,” Xi said during his meeting with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi. He also urged countries to oppose “external interference” and strengthen regional dialogue on peace and security.

Like Egypt, other regional powers are similarly diversifying their partnerships rather than relying exclusively on Washington.

Key Middle Eastern leaders understand that a prolonged war against Iran would not remain confined to Iran. It could destabilize the entire region, devastate economies and infrastructure, threaten vital energy routes, and generate interconnected wars whose consequences could endure for decades.

This brings us to Israel. Historically the cornerstone of US strategy in the region, Israel is itself considerably weaker. It is militarily overstretched, politically fragmented, socially divided, and unable to decisively conclude any of the wars it has opened, despite Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s repeated declarations of victory.

The US government continues to double down, even as its stubbornness costs it dearly not only in material terms but also in geopolitical influence. Washington is rapidly losing power and status in the Middle East, a decline that could produce a wider domino effect, reverberating around the world.

The latest expression of this hubris came from US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. Speaking at a G20 gathering of finance ministers in Asheville, North Carolina, last week, Bessent declared that, within two years, the Strait of Hormuz would become “a worthless piece of water,” as oil would instead be transported through overland pipelines.

Bessent is promoting a new narrative that shifts the emphasis from the military war to an economic one. In an article for The Financial Times last month, he announced that “an economic D-Day is coming for Iran,” threatening countries that continue to trade with Tehran with severe economic consequences. This sounds more like an admission of Washington’s inability to alter the course of the war than a serious foreign policy strategy.

Two dominant schools of thought have emerged to explain how Washington finds itself in this position. The first, promoted largely by sections of the US media, former officials, and retired military commanders, argues that the war on Iran was a mistake from the outset and that Washington lacked the military and logistical preparedness necessary to wage it.

Bessent is promoting a new narrative that shifts the emphasis from the military war to an economic one

Dr. Ramzy Baroud

The second explanation places Iran at the center. It argues that Washington fundamentally underestimated Iran’s military capabilities, political resilience and regional reach, instead treating the country as though it were another Venezuela that could be subdued through sanctions, threats and limited military pressure...

Read more: US hubris has led to a Middle East quagmire

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ISRAEL WILL NEVER STOP ME SPEAKING UP FOR PALESTINE

Source: Al Jazeera
https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2026/9/10/israel-will-never-stop-me-speaking-up-for-palestine

By Jeremy Corbyn
Published September 10, 2026

Israel’s decision to bar British MPs exposes how far it will go to avoid scrutiny over its treatment of Palestinians.

LONDON, ENGLAND - JULY 19: Former Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn addresses those who took part in the National March for Palestine as it reaches its conclusion in Whitehall, on July 19, 2025 in London, England. Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding rallies and marches regularly since the war began between Israel and Palestine on October 7, 2023. Organisers say this weekend is expected to be the largest one to date. (Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images) (Getty)

In our discussions of Palestine, we always emphasise the horror stories.
But in my visits to Palestine, I have experienced the humanity, the music, the art, the poetry, the joy and the resilience of the Palestinian people.
I have no interest in being given a tour of apartheid by the Israeli government.
I am, however, unwavering in my determination to campaign for the only path to peace: the end of the occupation. It has been many years since I have visited Palestine.
No matter what Israel does to intimidate us into silence and despair, I have not given up hope that one day, I may return to visit the children I once met – in a free and independent Palestine.

Over my lifetime, it’s been my privilege to visit Palestine on several different occasions. I’ve witnessed what Palestinians endure on a daily basis. Endless checkpoints. Manned watchtowers. Arbitrary arrests. Violent settlers. This is the daily reality of apartheid, which dictates who can and cannot move freely. This is how Israel’s occupation operates, denying any vestige of autonomy to the occupied. This is the daily rhythm of Palestinian life.

In Gaza, the Israeli occupation controls most of what goes in and out. Its illegal blockade has resulted in the mass starvation and displacement of Palestinians. As more and more people have woken up to the genocide in Gaza, Israel has also denied entry to UN investigators and international journalists – a transparent attempt to stop the world from finding out the full extent of the war crimes it has committed. Do not forget the thousands of Palestinian refugees, as well, who are still denied the right to return.

This is the real scandal. The Israeli government’s decision to ban me – and 10 other British MPs – from entry offered but a tiny glimpse into the authoritarianism that Palestinians are subject to every single day.

I won’t lose any sleep over being condemned by Israel. What I deplore is its despicable treatment of the Palestinian people. What I deplore is Israel’s denial of freedom of movement to thousands of Palestinians on a daily basis. What I deplore is Israel’s denial of entry to UN investigators and journalists, shielding itself from accountability for the crimes of apartheid, occupation and genocide.

What this ban is really about is preventing British MPs from visiting Gaza and the West Bank and stopping the world from seeing what is happening. The Israeli government’s decision tells us all we need to know. It tells us that Israel does not want the world to know the truth. It tells us that Israel resorts to increasingly absurd and desperate measures as it loses support across the globe. Above all, it tells us that we should not give up in our pursuit of truth, accountability and justice...

Read more: Israel will never stop me speaking up for Palestine

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‘AREAS A AND B ARE OURS’: SMOTRICH DECLARES OSLO ACCORDS ‘NULL AND VOID’

Source: Palestine Chronicle
https://www.palestinechronicle.com/areas-a-and-b-are-also-ours-smotrich-declares-oslo-accords-null-and-void/

By Palestine Chronicle Staff
Published September 8, 2026

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich declared the Oslo framework void, claimed Palestinian-administered West Bank areas for Israel, and predicted a major military operation.

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has declared the Oslo Accords “null and void” and claimed that Areas A and B of the occupied West Bank “are also ours.” (Design: PC)

"The occupation rejected the appeals submitted to halt the demolition of residential and agricultural structures belonging to eight citizens in the northern Jordan Valley ...
… accused Israel of “racing against time to carry out the largest possible demolition operations in the Jordan Valley as part of a systematic policy to uproot citizens from their lands.”

Key Developments

• Smotrich declared the Oslo Accords “null and void” and said Areas A and B of the occupied West Bank “are also ours.”
• He called for dismantling the Palestinian Authority and predicted an Israeli military operation to “disarm all the Arabs” in the West Bank.
• Meanwhile, Israeli soldiers beat five Palestinians in Tulkarem and Nablus, while an Israeli court rejected appeals against demolitions in the Jordan Valley.

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has declared the Oslo Accords “null and void,” claimed Palestinian-administered Areas A and B of the occupied West Bank for Israel, and called for the dismantling of the Palestinian Authority.

Speaking at a conference on Sunday, the far-right minister openly acknowledged that his position on the territory differed from that of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“In any case, Oslo is null and void. In any case, Areas A and B are also ours,” Smotrich said. “That is a dispute with the prime minister,” he added.

The comments go beyond Smotrich’s longstanding demands for Israeli sovereignty over Area C, which constitutes approximately 60 percent of the occupied West Bank and remains under full Israeli control under the Oslo framework.

Areas A and B encompass the principal Palestinian population centers and constitute the territory in which the Palestinian Authority exercises varying degrees of administrative authority.

Smotrich also indicated that Netanyahu had ordered Israeli sites established in those areas to be removed – a directive he explicitly opposed...

Read more: ‘Areas A and B Are Ours’: Smotrich Declares Oslo Accords ‘Null and Void’