Often, it's hard to keep track of who's battling who and what
alliances have formed in the Middle East. Sometimes it's as simple as
good vs. evil (e.g., Hamas vs. Israel). And sometimes, the age-old
concept that 'my enemy's enemy is my friend' applies. Things in
the region are rarely easy and never clean, but that's part of the
reason we distribute these weekly missives: to make sense of a messy
Middle East. With that in mind, this week we're going to touch on
Turkey, Iran and Iraq.

Iran's Oil

The Iranian nuclear agreement has moved from being on life-support to
slipping into a coma. But you might be surprised to learn that for
Tehran, that's perfectly ok. Take for example the latest news out of
the Biden administration. After having already lifted certain sanctions
on the Islamic Republic to build good will with Tehran, Team Biden is
now considering allowing Iran to sell more oil on the global market.

Gas prices are high, so the motivations here from the Biden
administration are clear. But we would point out that the Biden
administration's policies are giving Iran exactly what the Mullahs
want. Sanctions are decreasing and the Iranians are continuing their
nuclear weapons development, missile and UAV research, and support for
terrorism, unabated. Even a casual observer of the Biden
administration's Iran failures should recognize that it's time to
change course.

Turkey's Threats

Last week we referenced an op-ed authored by a CUFI Action Fund staffer
discussing Turkish President Recep Tayip Erdogan's charm offensive. We
warned against trusting Ankara's silver-tongued tyrant. As such, it
should come as no surprise that news out of Turkey this week revolves
around Erdogan's announcement that he plans to invade Kurdish-held
territory in northern Syria to create a "buffer zone" around his
country's borders.

Apparently Erodgan is paying attention to Vladimir Putin's invasion of
Ukraine and figures he'll get a quick landgrab in, while killing
American-allied Kurds. We won't bother saying "I told you so,"
since such a statement is as true as it is obnoxious, but we would point
out (again) that the Biden administration should probably reconsider
plans to sell additional hi-tech American weapons to a nation that
continues to host Hamas terrorists and has now -effectively - announced
plans to kill some of America's most stalwart allies in the Middle
East.

Iraq's Hate

Whether or not one agreed with the U.S. invasion of Iraq, there's no
denying the fact that Iraq today is far freer than it was under the
murderous regime of Saddam Hussein. As such, we were saddened to hear
that last week the Iraqi parliament passed a law that makes it illegal
for Iraqis to engage with Israel. Potential penalties for violating the
law include life in prison and the death penalty.

We were a bit surprised by this move as Iraq's parliament hasn't
even been able to form a government or elect its president due to
divisions in the body. Nonetheless, 275 elected representatives voted in
favor of the antisemitic law, and its passage was welcomed by the Shia
cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. You may remember him as a leader of a powerful
Iran-allied militia (read terrorist organization) that attacked and
killed numerous Americans in the aftermath of the overthrow of
Hussein. 

Across the region, American and Israeli foes are flexing their muscles.
They seek a world with no Israel and with an America that is at a
minimum significantly weakened. Between free and democratic nations,
alliances are far less about our enemy's enemy being our ally and more
about the fact that all of our enemies hate us because of the values we
hold dear.

America and Israel share the same enemies because we share the same
values. The U.S.-Israel alliance isn't a relationship of convenience,
it's an alliance of good facing down evil that has the support and
backing of the vast majority of Americans. Our leaders would do well to
keep that in mind the next time they choose to break bread with the
tyrants of the Middle East.

Sincerely,

The CUFI Action Fund Team

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