How Israel's disastrous response to 7 October destroyed its aura of invincibility

On 22 September 2023, two weeks before the 7 October al-Aqsa Flood attack, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the UN General Assembly about "a new Middle East". He bragged about Israel's power and status as the enforcer of regional security.

He held up a map showing a line going from India through the Persian Gulf, the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Jordan, then to the Israeli port city of Haifa, and eventually ending in Europe.

This grand project was dubbed the India-Middle East-Europe Corridor (Imec), a US-sponsored initiative to counter the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). 

For at least a decade, the US has been seeking to reorient its global national security strategy in order to focus on its most significant geopolitical challenges, namely a rising China and a re-assertive Russia. 

But in the Middle East, which is one of the most vital regions for US interests, it has opted to reduce its military presence and assign the role of securing its interests and maintaining stability to two of its most trusted allies - Israel and Saudi Arabia.

Read more: How Israel's disastrous response to 7 October destroyed its aura of invincibility