Shining city on a hill

America is a nation that shares with all other nations the trait of acting in its self interest rather than justice.

By DAVID MARGOLESE
Geneva nuclear talks diplomats in line 370 (photo credit: REUTERS/Denis Balibouse)
Geneva nuclear talks diplomats in line 370
(photo credit: REUTERS/Denis Balibouse)
Make no mistake about it. The deal America has struck with Iran is nothing less than the discarding of its decades old alliance with Israel in exchange for a new one with Iran.
This is shocking to Israelis, who have yet to fully comprehend the breathtaking revelations of the past few days. During the past week, Israel learned that America has gone behind it's back and deceived it, creating an alliance with Israel's mortal enemy who yet again only yesterday called for Israel's destruction. In striking its deal, America both welcomed Iran as a partner in world affairs, and accepted its right to be a nuclear (threshold) state.
This is the same Iran that controls Hezbollah, funds Hamas, and is committed to Israel's destruction. The same Iran that massacres hundreds of thousands of people in Syria to remain in control of that country.
Israelis are in a state of shock. We shouldn't be. Did we ever really believe that America is the 'city on a hill' that Jesus called 'the light of the world'? That's what American politicians put forth to justify acting in their country's self interests. Or as they prefer to call them, 'strategic' interests.
Let's be clear eyed here. America has never been that city on a hill. Not now, not ever, has America acted in anything other than her self interest.
That's not to say that America is an evil nation. On the contrary, it is a nation that is better than most. But it is still a nation that shares with all other nations the trait of acting in its self interest rather than justice. Kind of like Noah. A good man -- relative to others in his day. But no Abraham. We are still waiting for that Abrahamic nation to arise that will act upon the values of justice even when they don't align with her own interests. And when that nation arises, then that light will shine as a model for others to live by. We Jews believe that nation will be the reconstituted nation of Israel that we are re-building today.
Until then, we live, and have done so since the beginning of civilization, in a constant state of world wars. Wars between ideas. The ideas of Islam, of Christianity, of Fascism, of Nazism, of Communism, of Secularism, of Hedonism, and of course, of Judaism.
Sometimes the adherents of these ideas decide to impose them on others by force, hence the Crusades, World War II, The Soviet Empire, and so on.
In Obama's case, he came to power with a four point agenda. First, to establish national healthcare. Second, to withdraw America from overseas conflicts. Third, to seek rapprochement and good relations within the global community. And fourth, to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict with the creation of a Palestinian state.
He is behaving true to his word. In his first term he accomplished numbers one and two. He is now well on his way to accomplishing number three. Number four remains to be seen.
The past five years has witnessed a stunning rise in the technological recovery of oil from shale. So much so that all former production forecasts have been turned on their heads. Today the US is forecast to become oil self sufficient as soon as a dozen or so years from now, relegating Middle East oil to a new status. In the short span of a few years, the Middle East is rapidly on it's way out as a 'strategic interest' of the United States.
Obama is not really any different than the US presidents that preceded him. No former president ever provided any serious support to Israel for any reason other than pragmatic ones. Anyone who thinks otherwise need only ask themselves why America ignores all the bloodshed and conflict throughout the globe, yet has been so involved with the Middle East. All that is needed to understand the United States is this. As the value of Middle East oil evaporates for America, so too does America's strategic interest.
The writer is the co-founder and former CEO of Sirius XM Radio, America's largest radio broadcaster. Nominated by Harvard Business School as Entrepreneur of the Year, and inducted into NASA's Space Technology Hall of Fame, he now lives in Israel with his wife and family.