Israel

During Vice President Biden's trip to Israel the Israeli government announced plans to expand the settlements that were already present. This threatens the attempts by the United States and other countries to resolve problems between Palestinians and Israelis. This move also undermined the United States efforts taking place in Israel. If you combine this with the fact that AIPAC (an American Jewish lobby group) is supporting the Israeli move America is being made to look like a fool because the country that they provide the most foreign aid to is going against there will.

The United States should put an end to its alliance with Israel because the current alliance threatens United States relations in the Middle East and rest of the world. As long as Israel keeps bombing the Gaza Strip and flying in the restricted air zones of other countries in the Middle East with the support of America that turns the other cheek there will be hostility between the United States and the Middle East. If the U.S. were to cut its ties or reprimand Israel it may help to gain the support of other countries in the Middle East. Also if the U.S. would reprimand Israel or reduce its support for Israel it would improve its relations with the whole world because of the amount of times the U.S. has used its veto in favor of Israel. Many countries feel that the excessive use of the veto in the UN is an abuse of power.

The U.S. should change its policy in Israel to ease relations with the Middle East and the rest of the world. By doing so the United States could avoid a war with Iran, Egypt, and other countries. It would also strengthen U.S. legitimacy.

Russian-Venezuelan Arms Deal

Russia has agreed to a five billion dollar arms deal with Venezuela that includes a 2.2 billion dollar loan that was given to Venezuela last year from Moscow. The Venezuelans have already been buying military weapons from the Russians. These purchases include more than 100,000 Kalashnikov rifles (AK-47), twenty-four fighter jets, and more than fifty attack and transport helicopters from Russia’s Mil Moscow helicopter plant (UPI). The Russians and Venezuelans have also signed a plan that would establish a facility in Venezuela that produces the Kalashnikov rifle but the facility has not been built yet. It is believed that the current arms deal will be used to purchase tanks from the Russians.

The arms race in Venezuela threatens the sovereignty of the surrounding Latin American countries. The major country that is threatened by this is the Columbian state. This is due to the fact the Venezuela is supporting the left wing Revolutionary Armed forces of Columbia. Columbia has had to increase its own military power in order to stop the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Columbia. Also, the relations between the two countries have also been hampered by the fact that Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez slapped a ban on Columbian imports as a result of Columbia allowing the United States to have greater access to its anti-narcotics operations. IT is feared that the Russia Venezuela arms deal is the sign of an arms race between Venezuela and Columbia as a result in differences of opinion about United States involvement in and presence in South America.

This arms deal and the potential arms deal that it may cause threatens global security. This is due to the United States being aligned with Columbia whereas Russia and Iran are aligned with Venezuela. If war were to break between these two armed nations there is no definite winner and the war may require outside intervention. Intervention could lead to war between the United States and Russia. This arms deal also threatens sanctions by the United Nations. This is due to the Venezuelan support of the Iranian nuclear program which can be shown by Chavez stating the he would send 20,000 barrels of gasoline a day in order to undermine the sanctions placed on Iran (Schualy).

This plan also may allude to the development of a Venezuelan nuclear power program. Their increased alliance with Russia and Iran may mean that the last two countries are providing Venezuela with nuclear technology. In a sense this may be positive because Venezuela’s GDP fell by over three percent as a result of an energy crisis. On the other hand Venezuela has been rapidly arming itself which may indicate that it would use nuclear technology to create atomic weapons. If you combine this with the anti-American and anti-Columbian sentiment expressed by Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez and there is the potential for a global war to erupt that could involve nuclear weapons.

This arms deal is more of an example of cooperation in the world than it is an example of conflict. This is due to the alliance that is being formed between Russia and Venezuela. The alliance also includes other countries that have or are developing nuclear programs and express anti-American sentiment. These other two countries are Iran and China. This cooperation between the four countries resembles the alliances formed by the axis during World War Two and the triple alliance of World War One. The potential for this alliance is of great importance to the whole world because of the authoritarian regimes that run these countries and the corruption or militarism of the leaders that are in power in these countries.

The arms deal between Russia and Venezuela is an example of cooperation between two belligerent nations. The cooperation between these two countries may be the sign of a formation of a new axis of evil. This cooperation may lead to a third world war. This deal threatens not only the sovereignty of countries in South America it threatens the security of the world. At the same time it also helps an economy that was struggling as a result of an energy crisis. The outcomes and consequences of the actions of these two countries are unknown but the pose the potential to destroy global security and cause war.

Russian PM Putin eyes $5bn arms deals with Venezuela. BBC News. April 6^th 2010. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8603698.stm

Russian-Venezuelan arms deal sparks concerns. UPI. April 8^th 2010. http://www.upi.com/Business_News/Security-Industry/2010/04/08/Russian-Venezuelan-arms-deal-sparks-concerns/UPI-36351270749864/

Schualy, Mordchai. “The Future Nuclear Powers You Should be Worried About.” October 20^th 2009. http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2009/10/20/the_future_nuclear_powers_you_should_be_worried_about?page=0,3

Venezuela-Russia deal sparks arms race concerns. The Financial Times. April 7^th 2010. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/fb73932c-423f-11df-9ac4-00144feabdc0.html