{"id":301654,"date":"2025-01-10T09:08:52","date_gmt":"2025-01-10T09:08:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/?p=301654"},"modified":"2025-01-12T09:46:00","modified_gmt":"2025-01-12T09:46:00","slug":"netanyahu-committee-says-israel-must-prepare-for-war-with-turkey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/?p=301654","title":{"rendered":"Netanyahu Committee Says Israel Must Prepare for War with Turkey"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1 style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Mike Whitney \u2013 The Unz Review Jan 9, 2025<\/strong><\/h1>\n<p>The ousting of Syrian President Bashar al Assad has put the United States, Israel and Turkey on a fast-track to a broader and more violent conflagration. <strong>By removing Assad and obliterating the state, the coup managers created a power vacuum that has been filled by the proxy armies of the most vicious and aggressive nations in the world all of whom are now prepared to intensify the fighting in order to determine the final borders of the New Middle East.<\/strong> The gravity of the situation has not been lost on the media which is sounding increasingly hysterical with every passing day. Consider, for example, a few of the headlines that appeared in newspapers on Wednesday:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.newarab.com\/news\/israel-must-prepare-war-turkey-gov-committee-warns\">Israel must prepare for war with Turkey, gov committee warns,<\/a> <em>New Arab<\/em><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/europeanconservative.com\/articles\/news\/government-report-israel-must-get-ready-for-war-with-turkey\/\">Government Report: Israel Must Get Ready for War With Turkey,<\/a> <em>The European Conservative<\/em><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.middleeasteye.net\/news\/turkish-backed-syria-bigger-threat-iran-says-israeli-govt-panel\">Turkey-backed Syria may be bigger threat than Iran, says Israeli government panel,<\/a> <em>Middle East Eye<\/em><\/li>\n<li>\u2018<a href=\"https:\/\/timesofindia.indiatimes.com\/videos\/international\/be-ready-for-war-not-iran-israel-says-turkey-backed-syria-is-now-bigger-threat-watch\/videoshow\/117030466.cms\">Be Ready For War\u2019: Not Iran, Israel Says Turkey-Backed Syria Is Now Bigger Threat,<\/a> <em>Times of India<\/em><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.jpost.com\/international\/article-836211\">Erdogan\u2019s policies in Syria bring Turkey and Israel closer to confrontation,<\/a> <em>Jerusalem Post<\/em><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailysabah.com\/politics\/israel-incites-war-with-turkiye-after-syrian-revolution\/news\">Israel incites war with T\u00fcrkiye after Syrian revolution<\/a>, <em>Daily Sabah<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Get the picture? Now that Assad is gone, the mask has been stripped away, and the competing agendas of the various actors are becoming more apparent. <strong>In this new paradigm, the US, Israel and Turkey are not allies attempting to achieve the same objective (toppling Assad), but bitter enemies determined to impose their own strategic vision on the entire region. This is where Washington\u2019s ambitious plan to control the region\u2019s pipeline corridors and critical resources meets head-on with the expansionist Zionist plan for Greater Israel and Turkey\u2019s dream of a new Ottoman empire.<\/strong> The Middle East is simply not big enough for multiple hegemons attempting to control the main levers of regional power or to imposing their own security architecture on their far-flung neighbors. \u2018Something\u2019s gotta give.\u2019 Sooner or later, there\u2019s going to be a flashpoint followed by years of bloodletting. This is from an article at the <em>Middle East Eye<\/em>:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.middleeasteye.net\/countries\/turkey\">Turkey<\/a> could pose a greater threat to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.middleeasteye.net\/countries\/israel\">Israel<\/a> than <a href=\"https:\/\/www.middleeasteye.net\/countries\/iran\">Iran<\/a> in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.middleeasteye.net\/countries\/syria\">Syria<\/a> if it supports a hostile \u201cSunni Islamist\u201d force in Damascus, an Israeli government commission <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.il\/BlobFolder\/news\/spoke-committee060125\/he\/report-060125.pdf\">said<\/a> on Monday. <\/strong>Ankara has emerged as a major beneficiary of the collapse of Bashar al-Assad\u2019s government in Syria last month, after a rebel offensive led by Hay\u2019at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and other Turkish-backed Syrian groups\u2026.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">The \u201cCommittee for the Evaluation of the Defence Establishment Budget and the Balance of Power\u201d\u2026 was established in 2023\u2026 to develop recommendations for the defence ministry regarding potential areas of conflict Israel could face in the coming years\u2026<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><strong>\u201c\u2026. it must be considered that Israel may face a new threat arising in Syria, which in some respects could be no less severe than the previous one.<\/strong> This threat could take the form of an extreme Sunni force that would also refuse to recognise the very existence of Israel,\u201d the committee said.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">\u201cFurthermore, since the Sunni rebels will wield political power by virtue of their central control <strong>in Syria, a greater threat may emerge from them than the Iranian threat,<\/strong> which has been limited due to Israel\u2019s ongoing actions, as well as the restrictions placed on Iran by the sovereign Syrian state.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">The committee warned that the problem could intensify if the Syrian force effectively became a Turkish proxy, \u201cas part of <strong>Turkey\u2019s ambition to restore the Ottoman Empire to its former glory\u201d\u2026.The presence of Turkish proxies \u2013 or Turkish forces \u2013 in Syria could increase the risk of a direct Turkey-Israel conflict,<\/strong> its report assessed\u2026.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">The committee further cautioned that <strong>the distinct geopolitical instability in the region<\/strong> could heighten tensions between Israel and Turkey\u2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.middleeasteye.net\/news\/turkish-backed-syria-bigger-threat-iran-says-israeli-govt-panel\">Turkey-backed Syria may be bigger threat than Iran, says Israeli government panel<\/a>, <em>Middle East Eye<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>\u201cGeopolitical instability in the region\u201d??<\/strong> Israel \u2013that has launched multiple airstrikes on five different countries in the last few months\u2013 is worried about \u201cgeopolitical instability\u201d?<\/p>\n<p>Give me a break.<\/p>\n<p>In other words, some level-headed Israeli analyst is beginning to wonder if the random toppling a government that posed no security threat to Israel might not have been the best possible strategy.<\/p>\n<p>What\u2019s so shocking about the excerpt is that it proves that neither Israel, Turkey nor the United States had a plan for the \u201cday after\u201d Assad was gone. <strong>The political leaders and their respective intelligence agencies were so maniacally focused on deposing \u201cthe tyrant\u201d, they never considered the unintended consequences of their action. They just blundered ahead into a situation that can only end in war<\/strong>. And it\u2019s taken these so-called experts nearly a month to figure out what should have been obvious from the very beginning, that if you overthrow a government and plunge the country into chaos, the outcome might be worse than what you started with. Here\u2019s more from the <em>Jerusalem Post:<\/em><\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/IsraelTurkeyWar2-MW.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wpa-warning wpa-image-missing-alt aligncenter size-full wp-image-301656\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/IsraelTurkeyWar2-MW.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"706\" height=\"900\" data-warning=\"Missing alt text\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/IsraelTurkeyWar2-MW.jpg 706w, https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/IsraelTurkeyWar2-MW-480x612.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) 706px, 100vw\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><strong>Israel must prepare for a direct confrontation with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.jpost.com\/tags\/turkey\">Turkey<\/a>,<\/strong> according to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.jpost.com\/israel-news\/article-836323\">Nagel Committee\u2019s<\/a> latest report on the defense budget and security strategy. The committee, established by the government, warns that <strong>Turkey\u2019s ambitions to restore its Ottoman-era influence could lead to heightened tensions with Israel, possibly escalating into conflict.<\/strong> The report highlights the risk of Syrian factions aligning with Turkey, creating a new and potent threat to Israel\u2019s security.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">\u201c<strong>The threat from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.jpost.com\/tags\/syria\">Syria<\/a> could evolve into something even more dangerous than the Iranian threat<\/strong>,\u201d the report states, warning that Turkish-backed forces might act as proxies, fueling regional instability. The committee\u2019s assessment comes amid Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan\u2019s increasingly assertive policies in the region, which some analysts view as antagonistic to Israel\u2019s interests\u2026.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">Netanyahu addressed the report, stating, \u201cWe are witnessing fundamental changes in the Middle East.<strong> Iran has long been our greatest threat, but new forces are entering the arena, and we must be prepared for the unexpected<\/strong>. This report provides us with a roadmap to secure Israel\u2019s future.\u201d\u2026<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><strong>Bolstering military capabilities<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">To prepare for a potential confrontation with Turkey, the committee recommended the following measures:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">Advanced weaponry: Acquiring additional F-15 fighter jets, refueling aircraft, drones, and satellites to strengthen Israel\u2019s long-range strike capabilities.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">Air defense systems: Enhancing multi-layered air defense capabilities, including the Iron Dome, David\u2019s Sling, Arrow systems, and the newly operational Iron Beam laser-based defense system.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">Border security: Constructing a fortified security barrier along the Jordan Valley, which would mark a significant shift in Israel\u2019s defensive strategy despite potential diplomatic ramifications with Jordan. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.jpost.com\/israel-news\/article-836362\">Israel must prepare for potential war with Turkey, Nagel Committee warns,<\/a> <em>Jerusalem Post<\/em><\/p>\n<p>War?? The Jerusalem Post thinks there could be a war between Israel and Turkey?<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/IsraelTurkeyWar3-MW.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wpa-warning wpa-image-missing-alt aligncenter size-full wp-image-301657\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/IsraelTurkeyWar3-MW.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"640\" data-warning=\"Missing alt text\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/IsraelTurkeyWar3-MW.jpg 640w, https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/IsraelTurkeyWar3-MW-480x480.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) 640px, 100vw\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<p>How is it that the editors of the Post are only figuring this out now, when Muammar Gaddafi figured it out more than a decade ago. Take a look:<\/p>\n<div align=\"center\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">&#8220;Their plan is to remove Lebanon and Syria so that the borders of so-called Israel are with Turkey rather than with Arab countries. You will see this achieved, if not in our era, then in our children&#8217;s era&#8230; Syria will become 5 small states.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 GADDAFI <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/sAqNOCkX5B\">pic.twitter.com\/sAqNOCkX5B<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 COMBATE |\uf1f5\uf1f7 (@upholdreality) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/upholdreality\/status\/1868441850534822115?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">December 15, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><br \/>\n&#8212;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Let me get this straight: Gaddafi grasped that Israel\u2019s plan to splinter Syria would create a hard border in the north with Turkey, but no one at the CIA, Mossad or Turkey\u2019s MIT could draw that same obvious conclusion?<br \/>\nWTF?!?<\/p>\n<p>Keep in mind, these are the same \u201cexperts\u201d that were back-slapping and high-fiving just last week when Assad was ousted <strong>. Now these same spooks and pundits have gone into full-panic-mode demanding that Israel \u201cbolster their military capabilities\u201d to confront an enemy more formidable than Iran.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>And, in the north, the situation is even more ominous due in large part to Washington\u2019s continued support for Kurdish separatists (SDF) who have carved out their own state in the heart of the Arab world. Try to image Biden\u2019s response if Putin decided to send troops and weaponry to a group of separatists in Texas who declared themselves independent of the US and seized all the oil wells across the state. What do you think Biden\u2019s reaction would be?<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/IsraelTurkeyWar4-MW.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wpa-warning wpa-image-missing-alt aligncenter size-full wp-image-301658\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/IsraelTurkeyWar4-MW.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"470\" data-warning=\"Missing alt text\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/IsraelTurkeyWar4-MW.jpg 640w, https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/IsraelTurkeyWar4-MW-480x353.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) 640px, 100vw\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<p>Turkey\u2019s President Erdogan is doing nothing that Biden wouldn\u2019t do under the same circumstances. He\u2019s building up his forces and threatening to attack Washington\u2019s allies in northeastern Syria which dramatically increases the probability of war breaking out between two members of NATO. This is from an article at <em>The Cradle<\/em>:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><strong>Turkiye\u2019s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on 6 January that Kurdish militias in Syria will soon be driven out of the country and that Ankara will not agree to any policy allowing them to maintain a presence there.<\/strong> Fidan said it was a \u201cmatter of time\u201d before the Peoples Protection Unit (YPG) gets \u201celiminated,\u201d stressing that it must lay down its weapons \u201cas soon as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><strong>The YPG is the Syrian branch of Ankara\u2019s sworn foe, the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). The YPG is considered the backbone of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), Washington\u2019s Kurdish proxy in Syria<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">\u201cConditions in Syria have changed,\u201d Fidan stated. \u201cPKK\u2019s empire of violence built over Kurdish people is on the verge of collapsing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">Under the pretext of securing its borders and pushing away Kurdish militants, t <strong>he Turkish military has been illegally occupying northern Syria since 2017 and supporting a coalition of armed factions called the Syrian National Army (SNA) \u2013 made up of several extremist groups such as Jaish al-Islam and Ahrar al-Sham. <\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><strong>The SNA has incorporated scores of ISIS fighters and commanders into its ranks over the years.<\/strong> It played a significant role in the 11-day shock offensive, which ended with the collapse of former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad\u2019s government on 8 December.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><strong>Since the fall of Damascus, the SNA and SDF have been engaged in fierce clashes with one another. The clashes have escalated in recent days, as a US-brokered truce has failed.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported on 5 January that <strong>over 100 fighters from both sides have been killed in the last few days<\/strong>. The clashes are focused in the northern city of Manbij in the Aleppo countryside\u2026.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">SDF forces remain in control of large chunks of northeastern Syria and part of Deir Ezzor governorate, in particular, the eastern bank of the Euphrates River. <strong>The Kurdish militia, created with the support of the US in 2015, has helped Washington retain control of Syria\u2019s oil and wheat-rich regions since 2017. <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/thecradle.co\/articles-id\/28350\">Turkiye vows \u2018imminent eradication\u2019 of Kurdish militias as death toll skyrockets in north Syria,<\/a> <em>The Cradle<\/em><\/p>\n<p>So, while developments in the south are increasingly ominous, in the north, the fighting has already begun. <strong>Erdogan is going to prevent the emergence of a Kurdish state whatever the cost and even if his actions put him in direct conflict with US forces<\/strong>. From a national security point of view, Turkey cannot allow a hostile separatist entity to occupy strategic outposts along its southern border. This is not a negotiable issue. The Kurds must settle for partial autonomy under the auspices of the new Syrian state. That is the only mutually palatable remedy.<\/p>\n<p>What do these three articles tell us?<\/p>\n<p><strong>They tell us that the situation on the ground in Syria is deteriorating fast and that all the main players are being dragged inexorably towards war.<\/strong> They tell us that Turkey and Israel are likely to clash over undetermined borders in the south and over Israel\u2019s absurd claim that it can conduct airstrikes in Syria whenever it wants.<\/p>\n<p>They tell us that no one was prepared for the fall of the Assad and that \u2013as a result\u2013 no one developed a coherent plan for establishing security, preserving a contiguous state, or ending the hostilities. In short, <strong>there is no plan, no strategy, nothing. Our foreign policy mandarins are simply improvising, making it up as they go along, and reacting to events as they unfold. <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>And that is precisely how nations sleepwalk into world wars.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/IsraelTurkeyWar5-MW.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wpa-warning wpa-image-missing-alt aligncenter size-full wp-image-301659\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/IsraelTurkeyWar5-MW.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" data-warning=\"Missing alt text\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/IsraelTurkeyWar5-MW.jpg 640w, https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/IsraelTurkeyWar5-MW-480x360.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) 640px, 100vw\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.unz.com\/mwhitney\/netanyahu-committee-says-israel-must-prepare-for-war-with-turkey\/\">Source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>With Assad removed Netanyahu\u2019s plan for a Greater Israel, Erdogan\u2019s ambitions for a revived Ottoman Empire and America\u2019s lust for more control are now on a collision course. Mike Whitney explains    <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121,"featured_media":301655,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[58,37],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-301654","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-Current_Affairs","category-Israel_Anti-Semitism_Zionism_and_US-UK_allies"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/301654","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/121"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=301654"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/301654\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":301697,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/301654\/revisions\/301697"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/301655"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=301654"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=301654"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=301654"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}