There are no clear winners in this blood feud that has defined geopolitical fault lines in West Asia for over four decades.
Author
Sreeram Chaulia, Professor and Dean, Jindal School of International Affairs, O.P. Jindal Global University, Sonipat, Haryana, India.
Summary
As the world braces for the next salvo in the series of violent tit-for-tat attacks between traditional rivals Iran and Israel, a sobering fact bears reminding. There are no clear winners in this blood feud that has defined geopolitical fault lines in West Asia for over four decades. Each side in this contest of national egos and antagonistic ideologies has used varieties of lethal force to impose its will over the other. But, in the end, neither party gains a decisive victory that can silence the other’s guns, bombs, assassins, missiles and drones. It is a classic lose-lose situation.
It is time for the principal players in this Cold War to break out of the perpetual vendetta syndrome. Gulf countries such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, which have open lines to Israel, Iran and the US, could come forward to mediate pragmatic security arrangements. The alternative of continuing to act out of rage and endlessly avenging strikes with counterstrikes will leave everyone, including neighbouring countries, worse off in a permanent spiral of instability and destruction.
Published in: Hindustan Times
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