“Trump is Netanyahu’s poodle, he plays him like a fiddle”: Avi Shlaim

Описание: "Trump is Netanyahu's poodle, he plays him like a fiddle": Avi Shlaim, Emeritus Professor of International Relations, Oxford University, to Karan Thapar for The Wire.

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One of Israel’s most highly regarded and world-renowned professors of history and international relations, Avi Shlaim, says that Donald Trump is “Netanyahu’s poodle”, adding that Netanyahu “plays him like a fiddle”. Prof. Shlaim says that Donald Trump is the only American President who is gullible enough to become part of Netanyahu’s plan for regime change in Iran. However, Prof. Shlaim believes that regime change is almost impossible to achieve from the air and what is far more likely is that the regime will survive and if Mojtaba Khamenei remains the supreme leader he is likely to be more ruthless and a hardliner. Prof. Shlaim also believes that the regime only needs to survive to, in effect, win, whereas America if it doesn’t win has, in effect, lost.



Prof. Shlaim has spoken with context and detail and if you want to understand all the different issues that arise out of the present US-Israel-Iran war and if you want answers to the questions that many people have been asking for the last twenty days than I recommend you see this interview. Prof. Shlaim has explained things simply, clearly and very effectively. He has a very clear view that runs right through the interview and it’s a very easy interview to follow. You will learn a lot from it. This is particularly true of those who haven’t followed the war or understood the issues involved closely. This is your best opportunity to find out.



To help you, I give below the list of the main questions put to Prof. Shlaim. Here they are:-



1) Let me start with a personal question. How do you, an Israeli citizen, who has served in the Israeli defence forces, view the US-Israeli war on Iran?



2) The second key question is about the legality of what America and Israel have done. Prime Minister Starmer initially refused permission for US bases in Britain to be used for the war because he was advised it was illegal. However, he was sharply criticized by Tony Blair who believes Britain owes this to its closest ally. In your eyes, was Starmer right or was Blair right?



3) On February 28th, the very first day of the war, Ayatollah Khamenei was killed. Was this understandable and justified or outright cold-blooded murder?



4) For decades Iranians have been chanting ‘death to Israel’ and ‘death to America’. They refer to the two countries as the Great Satan and the Little Satan. Is Iran an existential threat to Israel?



5) Does President Trump have a clear idea why he’s embarked on this war? Sometimes he says it’s to ensure Iran doesn’t build nuclear weapons even though he’s boasted that Iran’s nuclear programme was obliterated last year. Sometimes he says it’s to eliminate Iran’s ballistic missiles. On other occasions, he says it’s regime change. And he’s even said it’s pre-emptive in case Iran strikes America first. So what should we believe?



6) For its part Iran has shown surprising resilience and its also effectively widened the war by not just targeting American bases in the Gulf but airports, hotels, energy installations, data centres and, occasionally, residential complexes. Did America and Israel underestimate Iran’s resilience and its capacity to retaliate?




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