Israel Instigating War Part II

OK so where was I?

So it is now 1948 and the Brits are beating a hot trail back to the U.K. The Jordanian Monarchy is suddenly realizing the Brits were serious. The Zionists are all ready for the Brits to leave. World opinion is ambivalent at best towards the mostly worthless land in question. Egypt is concerned over securing both total Independence and the only economic production of revenue, the Suez Canal. Lebanon is busy becoming a new Monaco. Syria was busy watching the Brits leave the Transjordan and setting up house as a military power. Iraq was also enjoying the rapid departure of the Brits and French and suffering through the turmoil of the revolt against the English installed Monarchy. And then it all started.. The Jordanians attempted to assert control over the Trans Jordan. The only problem was that it was already too late.

In an attempt to help Jordan, the U.K. placed an embargo on the Transjordan and an immigration ban. Ostensibly, the goal was to prevent any insurrection from developing against Jordanian control as the U.K. forces pulled out. What it was in fact was quite different. The vast majority of all immigration into Palestine at that time was Jewish. Ships and tramp steamers are actually shelled and rammed as "pirate" vessels by the British Navy. The land routes into Palestine were also chocked off by English force of the military kind. The Jewish industrialists and policing forces which had been created with English consent were disenfranchised of rights and weapons. Tariffs were enacted to prevent any sort of Zionist aid getting into the hands of the Jews. But none of the adverse effects of the U.K. actions were equally applied to the Arabs living in the Transjordan.

The English thought was that a friendly nation in the form of Jordan would control both Mediterranean waters and Red Sea waters. Jordan would also provide a military base which would be useful against Egypt if and when the Suez ever became threatened. . In addition, instead of shipping home the huge military equipment which Britain possessed, they turned it over to the Kingdom of Jordan.

If there was ever a more uneven slate of combatants, then you will have to inform me. By all rights the power vacuum should have been filled by Jordan. What happened was the exact opposite.

In a nutshell, the birth of Israel is as unlikely an event as was the Spanish conquest of Mesoamerica.There were only 2 advantages that the Jews had. The first was that they were basically concentrated. The Zionist communities were almost ideal mini fortresses. The second was that the Jews had absolutely nothing left to loose. In Jewish thought, this was the final round. Either the Jews would win or for all intents, they would cease to be a world wide culture.

It is interesting to note that the Jewish state was at war on the very first day of its existence. What is even more amazing is that they didn't have a military. At the start of hostilities they could lay claim to a handful of P-40 Warhawks, a single Messerschmidt Condor, one B-17, 6 ME 109's, one Folckewulf 190, one Ta 190, one Arado Lightning, and 2 Hawker Hurricanes. There was no navy. As for land forces, they had a collection of German army and Waffen SS small arms, a couple Krupps 88 mm cannons, some anti aircraft guns, a single British Goliath, a couple of Patton tanks, A squad of Lee tanks, and 12 world class King Tiger Tanks.

Against this every Arab country had more surplus French & British equipment and supplies to throw into the land grab. The fact that the Arabs failed to take control of the Transjordan is going to continue to be one of the great military stories of all time.

What is important is that by resisting the Arab League, Israel gained the mantel of the kid who stood up to the class bully. And more importantly, every single nation which participated in the land grab underwent huge political turmoil as a result of the failure to defeat the Jews. Lebanon went radically conservative and the British installed government fell. Jordan fell into political chaos. Egypt fell apart. Syria fell apart. In short the failure of the Arab nations to kill Israel on the first day gave Israel the chance to build an army for the next round.

The only difference in the latter wars was that to charge up the populations, the Muslim vs Jew element was brought to the front by the Arab states. And from then on the battle has been Muslim vs Jew.

Personally I feel sorry for the Palestinians. They are both victims of time and place. Had Jordan agreed to take over the Transjordan in the first place, there never would have been a Zionist inspired Jewish state. In fact, there probably never would have been a war period. For the Jews and Arabs had lived without incident since the Crusades. As to the current situation, that the Israelis are willing to give any land or any consideration to the Palestinians is truly amazing. That the Palestinians have yet to even attempt to overcome or even leave the United Nations administered "refugee camps" is monumentally silly. In a way, the Palestinians asking for land back 52 years after they were part of the attempted extermination of what was left of the Jews is as valid as black people in the United States wanting reparations.

The sad fact is, Jordan never wanted the Palestinians, only the land. And what is even more unfortunate is that Israel actually offered citizenship and full rights to the Palestinians. In effect the fact that there are still refugees is a direct result of geopolitical intrigue and PLO machinations.

So do I feel any real sympathy for the Palestinians? Only in human terms, but not in political terms. If it were up to me I'd say the Israelis would be justified in turning on the tanks and jets and pushing the Palestinians into Jordan and ending the issue once and for all.