This is an edited transcript of ThePrint Cut The Clutter Episode 1343, published on 8 November 2023, on the origins of US-Israel ties & why Israel is vital to Western interests.
Any normalisation of ties between Israel & Arab states, especially Saudi Arabia, would have ‘led to marginalisation of Hamas’ & shifted focus from Palestine, say strategic experts.
Benjamin Netanyahu persisting with his sledgehammer approach where a scalpel might have worked is not wise. In the war of dead-baby pictures, the question of who’s the real victim will inevitably be obfuscated.
New Delhi’s relationship with Tel Aviv has seen many crests and troughs – including a time where it was considered blasphemous to even name the latter in India.
Indians see West Asia as one uninterrupted wash of Islam, but the reality is more complex. For the Druze, support from Israel—where they are a recognised minority—is now critical.
Mini deal will likely see no cut in 10% baseline tariff on Indian exports announced by Trump on 2 April, it is learnt, but additional 26% tariffs are set to be reduced.
India-Russia JV is also racing to deliver 7,000 more AK-203 assault rifles by 15 Aug. These are currently being made with 50% indigenisation and this will surge to 100% by 31 December.
Public, loud, upfront, filled with impropriety and high praise sometimes laced with insults. This is what we call Trumplomacy. But the larger objective is the same: American supremacy.
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