Russian forces after the occupation of Abdiyevka, Ukraine,/Telegram
Ben Hodges is a seasoned fighting fox.
During his four decades in the United States Army, he participated in its wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and later commanded the ground forces of NATO and the military forces of the European Command. Now, Lieutenant-General Hodges is anxiously following the development of the two main wars in the world today: the one in Ukraine, which is entering its third year, and this one in the Gaza Strip, which erupted following the Hamas attack on October 7.
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"The Kremlin has the most to gain from the Hamas attack on Israel," Hodges said in an interview with Walla. "Hamas' attack on Israel in October 7 was no coincidence.
Hamas is supported by Iran, as are Hezbollah and the Houthis.
Iran is also Russia's best and most reliable ally, and vice versa.
The result is a distraction of world attention from Russia to Israel and a diversion of resources" from the war in Ukraine.
In the eyes of Hodges, Washington must treat these two wars as part of a global struggle that also includes China, and not separately.
"The United States has failed to clearly define the end state The desired strategy for him regarding the war between Russia and Ukraine, which led to decisions being made and the supply of weapons changing and fragmented," added the American general, against the background of the opposition of the Republicans in the House of Representatives to approve a new aid package to Kiev.
"Iran is also Russia's best and most reliable ally, and vice versa."
Hodges/Reuters
In addition, he believes that the Biden administration has not shown that it is ready to go all the way in its support for Ukraine.
"The inability to declare that Ukraine will win the war and not just survive it prolongs its duration and increases its costs and casualties."
On the other hand, Hodges points out that "the United States is clearer about the desired results from its point of view in the war between Israel and Hamas."
On the one hand, "support for Israel" in the cluster to "pressure it to reduce harm to civilians and accept the two-state solution".
The problem, in his eyes, is "that the United States sees them as two separate wars. Instead, we need to treat them, and the efforts to contain Iran and North Korea, as part of a larger strategy
and organize accordingly in terms of diplomatic efforts, alliances and coalitions, social resilience, the defense industry and the readiness of All our joint forces."
According to him, "We must prove to the Chinese that we and our allies have the political will, the defense industrial capacity and the military ability to help Ukraine defeat Russia, help Israel destroy Hamas but also force them to accept the two-state solution, prevent Iran from escalating this conflict through its proxies, and still To be able to deter China from making a terrible miscalculation" regarding Taiwan.
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Profiting from the lack of clarity regarding the US's ultimate goal in the war in Ukraine. Putin/Reuters
"Hamas is a movement, a terrorist organization. It is likely that the IDF will kill most of its people and destroy most of its infrastructure, but that does not necessarily address the root of the problem"
Hodges also has criticism of Israel's approach to the war in Gaza.
"'Destroying Hamas' is a purely military approach. Certainly Hamas needs to be destroyed, but Prime Minister Netanyahu's goal has no political aspect or a plan for how Israel will be able to live with its Arab neighbors, including the Palestinians, once Hamas is 'destroyed'."
He warns that this approach can backfire.
"Hamas is a movement, a terrorist organization. It is likely that the IDF will kill most of its people and destroy most of its infrastructure, but that does not necessarily address the root of the problem," Hodges said in an interview. "Instead, I think this approach will only radicalize the generation the future of the Palestinians and will make it difficult for those Arab countries that hate or fear Iran and despise Hamas to cooperate with Israel."
"This approach will only radicalize the next generation of Palestinians."
Ruins in Rafah after the IDF attacks/Reuters
"A Trump victory would be a very real problem for Americans, as well as for other liberal democratic countries"
Hodges, who hung up the uniform in 2017, back when Donald Trump was in the White House, was anxious for his victory in November, when he will likely face Joe Biden again.
The former president caused much concern in Europe when he recently said that he would not stand by NATO members who would be attacked if they did not meet their defense spending.
"A Trump victory would be a very real problem for the Americans, as well as for other liberal democratic countries," said the American general. .” He gave every indication that he was more interested in praising Putin and Xi than supporting Ukraine.
I am concerned about its effect on NATO and the weakening of America's position in the world."
He is already convinced that we are in the midst of a global conflict.
"The sooner we think like this, the more we can properly organize, make our citizens understand the threats and take the necessary steps to prevent or overcome the threats to the rules-based international order from which we, the West, have benefited for decades."
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