The Big Takeaway from Roaring Lion !
As I was about to enter my Shule (Synagogue) this past Shabbat, I was confronted by a familiar siren warning of an impending missile attack. That haunting sound had not been heard in Israel for some eight months, not since the joint military action initially launched by Israel and later joined by the United States, severely damaging Iran’s nuclear and missile program, revealing Iran’s military limitations in the process.
Eight months later, the Jewish State, with America, has launched a devastating aerial campaign to destabilise the current regime in Tehran. ‘Roaring Lion’ has unleashed the overwhelming power and resolve of America and Israel combined.
While no doubt the importance for Israel can be measured in life and death terms. However, the big takeaway from ‘Roaring Lion’ can be found in the Taiwan Straits, which connect the South China Sea to the south and the East China Sea to the north. China’s leader, Xi Jinping, has been put on notice, ‘Hands Off’ Taiwan, or you will find yourself facing a belligerent President Donald J Trump backed by an awesome array of military hardware and technological superiority.
Had Trump not joined Israel’s offensive, Xi Jinping would have interpreted his reluctance as a lack of taste for a confrontation with China over Taiwan and acted accordingly. Now, China must reassess its options on Taiwan and weigh the possibility of defeat.
As for Russia’s Putin, all that stands between him and sharing the fate of Iran’s late leader, Ali Hosseini Khamenei, is the world’s second-largest nuclear arsenal. For the next two years, the balance of power has been recalibrated in America’s favour. After Trump, the world will look very different and very unstable.
For now, Israel, alongside Trump’s America, stands supreme while an envious Turkey lurks in the shadows waiting for an opportunity to take advantage of a perceived weakness within the Israel-America relationship.
