How the Axis of Resistance exposed US power limits
3 Min Read
According to an independent analysis by Atticus Canham-Clyne in Responsible Statecraft, the Axis of Resistance has played a key role in forcing Washington to pressure "Israel" into negotiations.
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Yemenis trample on US and Israeli flags during a rally against a US-sponsored Saudi-led coalition in Sanaa, Yemen, on November 22, 2021. (AP)
Hamas' allies in the Middle East, essentially the Axis of Resistance in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, and Yemen, have delivered quite a blow to "Israel" and the United States, an independent analysis by Atticus Canham-Clyne in Responsible Statecraft revealed.
In addition to making "Israel's" goal of eradicating Hamas nearly impossible, they have also forced the US to pressure the Israeli occupation into negotiating a truce due to their attacks on US forces in the region.
Canham-Clyne believes that US vulnerability has been especially obvious most recently since the Resistance groups have taken advantage of the US widespread presence in the region.
"With just a few cheap drones and missiles, the Houthis instituted an effective blockade of the Red Sea," the author argues, challenging the notion that the US is the "arbiter of freedom of navigation."
US President Joe Biden even admitted that strikes on Yemen have failed to deter Ansar Allah, but vowed to continue them regardless.
The Deputy Foreign Minister for the Sanaa government, Hussein al-Aazzi, confirmed this point, stressing that no entity can resolve its problems with Yemen via violent means, adding that the only way these issues can be resolved is through "wisdom and dialogue."
The US forces in Iraq, Syria, and Jordan have been subjected to 169 attacks since last October, according to a new report by Politico.
The author calls the US' troops extended presence in Iraq akin to "sitting ducks" rather than assets.
He even suggests that such attacks led to the ultimate decision to withdraw from the country, believing US troops in Syria will soon be met with the same fate.
The United States Central Command (CENTCOM) announced in late January that three US soldiers were killed while at least 25 were injured in northeastern Jordan near the Syrian border.
In turn, US President Joe Biden condemned the attack calling it "wholly unjust", reducing the event to the killing of US soldiers and making no mention of their overseas missions or the escalating tensions in the regions.
He concludes that the Axis' careful balance between striking US targets and maintaining the tensions in a way that avoids a regional war has been successful and that their "regional calculus has paid off significantly."
"Without American support, Israel cannot hope to continue any major military campaign for very long — it is thus critically susceptible to pressure from Washington."
The Axis of Resistance has most importantly provided American officials with a valuable chance to shift away from the type of unilateralist overreach.
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The author believes that a new foreign policy would allow US officials to prioritize the needs of Americans, noting that "precious few Americans, after all, want to stumble into another Middle Eastern 'forever war'", which, most importantly, may avert the scope of devastation unleashed on Gaza in recent months, the size which he calls reflects American arrogance.
