Just as the Almighty created us different so that people could get to know each other, so the media of different nations and states differ in their opinions and views on reality. Known for their characteristic green color, the pages of the Arab international newspaper "Asharq Al- Awsat" abound with various opinions on the current situation in the Middle East. One way or another, the thoughts of publicists and analysts revolve around the Palestinian-Israeli confrontation.
The Austrian Nazi Adolf Eichmann, a former SS Obersturmbannführer, was not some literal demon or monster. As Hannah Arendt wrote in her book about his trial, Eichmann was an obedient bureaucrat going about his daily business. This is what the philosopher called “the banality of evil”. Her work is recalled by Professor Sawsana al- Abtah in an article about how the horrors of Gaza will not be forgotten when the guns finally fall silent.
But that’s not the only concept she explores in “The Post-Gaza Tragedy”. The constant exposure of violence on social media and television dulls emotional responses, leading to “psychological anesthesia”: audiences fall into apathy to protect themselves from violent scenes. This leads to “death of conscience” and “moral disengagement” – people using simplistic euphemisms to justify mass murder and avoid responsibility by looking away.
Many are terrified by the prospect that the war in Gaza could become a model for future conflicts. Two million civilians are under siege and being killed in broad daylight – live on television. Soldiers in full gear climb into armored vehicles, and the battle is controlled from screens. Everything is controlled remotely, filmed by drones and satellites. Not a single Israeli has visited Gaza since 2007, while “banal evil” is becoming widespread.
If no one is held accountable for the crimes in Gaza, mass murder will become the norm, hunger will be weaponized, and evil will be tolerated as routine.
The Middle East has paid a high price for the conflict with Israel over the past 50 years, says journalist Nadim Koteich in an article about the region’s political impotence. Some saw the country as a fragile state dependent on external support, while others saw it as a military power capable of dictating terms through technological superiority. The strike on Damascus on July 16, 2025, became a symbol of the new reality: Israel no longer seeks negotiations, but imposes its will by force.
But military might be no substitute for political vision. By relying on rhetoric instead of real solutions, Israel’s strategy risks creating permanent instability. Mixing deterrence with the absence of a political project weakens legitimacy and increases chaos.
The crises in Gaza, Syria, Lebanon and elsewhere require a comprehensive approach, not isolation. Political fragmentation is the main threat to all: the Arabs cling to geography as a source of legitimacy, Israel to militarism. The Middle East needs a new vision, or the arms race will turn into a race to the abyss. Reducing politics to military superiority or historical narratives creates a vacuum that is filled by catastrophe.
For this reason, the issue of the 40,000-strong American contingent in the Middle East is becoming more acute than ever. This is what Khada al- Husseini points out in his article “It is Unlikely that the US Will Withdraw Its Troops from the Region”. The nature of geopolitics is such that the vacated space never remains unoccupied. In the event of a reduction in the American presence in the Middle East, the vacuum will be immediately filled by forces that include not only radical groups, but also global competitors of the US.
The consequences of a rapid troop withdrawal are already being calculated in the Pentagon. The struggle for control of oil routes in the Persian Gulf will immediately intensify, which will hit the global energy sector. The Gulf states, which have relied on American security guarantees for decades, will face a difficult choice: participate in the conflict or find new patrons. Israel will face a growing threat from radical forces that sense weakening restraints.
The author notes that the current American presence in the Middle East is no longer an occupation, but a system of containment that operates on the principle of the "lesser evil". The maintenance of military bases costs billions, but the potential costs of a vacuum - a regional war, the collapse of oil markets, a new wave of terrorism - will cost the world immeasurably more. Given the current situation, one can assume that specific and decisive actions to ensure stability and prosperity will cost the "lesser evil" even more.
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