The spectacle of J.D. Vance, America’s populist vice-presidential candidate, lambasting Benjamin Netanyahu’s strategy is yet another symptom of a decadent West that has lost its historical bearings. Vance, in his usual bombastic style, accuses the Israeli leader of failing to articulate a clear endgame in Gaza. But this is cheap theatre. The real tragedy is that neither Vance nor the British government, which now chirps about renewed Middle East peace leadership, has any grasp of the civilisational stakes at play.
Let us be clear: the Middle East is not a problem to be ‘managed’ by liberal platitudes or populist soundbites. It is a graveyard of empires. From the Romans to the Ottomans to the British, great powers have bled themselves dry in the sands of this region. Today, the United States and its allies repeat the same mistakes, believing that a two-state solution or a ceasefire will somehow conjure order out of chaos. They do not realise that the conflict is not about territory; it is about the very soul of a civilisation under threat from forces that reject modernity itself.
Vance’s critique of Netanyahu is particularly galling because it comes from a man who has never held executive office and whose foreign policy experience amounts to reading a few think-tank reports. He rails against Netanyahu’s ‘lack of strategy’ but offers none himself. This is the hallmark of the modern intellectual decadence: the ability to criticise without the burden of proposing a coherent alternative. The British government, for its part, is even more laughable. It calls for ‘renewed leadership’ while its own military is a shadow of its former self, its economy stagnates, and its political class fiddles with identity politics. The UK is in no position to lead anything except perhaps the race to irrelevance.
The truth is that the West has abandoned the very concept of strategy. We no longer think in terms of centuries or civilisations; we think in electoral cycles and viral moments. Netanyahu, for all his flaws, at least understands that Israel is fighting for its survival in a region that would happily see it erased. His strategy, however inelegant, is to buy time and degrade his enemies. Blast him if you must, but at least acknowledge the reality: there is no neat solution. The alternative to his approach is not peace; it is annihilation.
What the British and Vance fail to grasp is that the current chaos is a direct result of decades of Western intervention without cultural understanding. We invaded Iraq, destroyed Libya, and now wonder why the region is ablaze. We demanded Israel withdraw from Gaza in 2005, and got Hamas rockets in return. The lesson is simple: you cannot impose liberal democracy on societies that do not share your values. You cannot negotiate with those who celebrate your death.
The call for ‘renewed peace leadership’ is nothing but a polite way of asking someone else to fix a problem we created. It is the cry of an exhausted civilisation that has lost the will to fight for its principles. Vance’s outburst and Britain’s posturing are two sides of the same coin: a West that talks tough but acts feebly, that lectures others while retreating from its own responsibilities.
So let us dispense with the illusions. The Middle East will not be pacified by speeches at the UN or shuttle diplomacy by fading powers. It will only stabilise when the West recovers its nerve and its sense of purpose. Until then, Vance can vent, Britain can opine, and Netanyahu will continue to do what he must. The rest is noise.
