Une grave brèche dans le front israélo-américain

Les Israéliens sont de plus en plus mal à l’aise avec l’évolution de la situation en Irak à cause de la politique US dans ce pays et des répercussions dans les pays arabes modérés des pressions US pour y installer la démocratie. Ce malaise israélo-américain, qui est latent depuis plusieurs mois, apparaît publiquement par divers signes, notamment des désaccords publiquement affichés entre des organisations juives. Plus encore et de façon bien plus grave, ce désaccord est devenu effectif dans les discussions stratégiques constantes entre Israéliens et Américains au niveau stratégiques.

Ce désaccord stratégique est présenté de façon ouverte dans un article publié le 16 décembre dans le le magazine Forward : « In sharp contrast to the growing consensus of Jerusalem's security and political establishment, President Bush argued this week that Israel's safety depends on democratization of the Arab world.

» “If you're a supporter of Israel, I would strongly urge you to help other countries become democracies,” President Bush declared Monday, in a major address defending American policy in Iraq and his wider vision for the region. “Israel's long-term survival depends upon the spread of democracy in the Middle East.”

» Israeli security officials argued the opposite view at this month's American-Israeli strategic dialogue, warning that regime change and democratization threatened to destabilize the Middle East. Israel sees its security tied to regimes such as Egypt and Jordan, and fears that democratization could turn those countries against Israel.

» ”I am skeptical when it comes to the supposition that democracy is a panacea. Not all democracies are good,” said General Shlomo Brom, former chief of the Israeli army's strategic planning division. “What about a democracy in Egypt — let's say — which is governed by the Muslim Brotherhood? Would Egypt then have better relations with Israel than under Mubarak's regime?”

» As the American-Israeli debate quietly heats up, the Bush administration's approach is creating fault lines within the Jewish community. On Tuesday, the Republican Jewish Coalition took out a full-page advertisement attacking the Reform synagogue movement over its recent call for the United States to develop an exit strategy for the war in Iraq. »

Mis en ligne le 18 décembre 2005 à 09H33