WHAT A TANGLED WEB WE WEAVE: ALLIANCES IN THE MODERN AGE

By Aarushi GuptaStaff WriterThe conflict between Israel and Palestine took over July’s headlines; each hour brought a new development, every week brought a new cease-fire and new attempts to rekindle negotiations to end the endless brutality and warfare. The conflict between these nations is not new, but both nations are as far away from a solution as they were in 1948 when the Israeli state was introduced. The current peace relies on shoddy truces and feeble agreements. However, as relations between Israel and Palestine and the United States’ influence in the region both deteriorate, new alliances and partnerships have risen to tackle the inevitable hostilities that will return to the region. New collaborations between the United States and Germany, Qatar, Turkey, England, Italy, and France have come together to better address the problem; Qatar and Turkey were recently inducted into the coalition of international superpowers that claim some influence over the workings of the world – as neighboring countries, they represent strategic allies that also constitute sympathy for Hamas, the Palestinian offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood.However, as Edward Snowden, former NSA contractor, continues to chip away at the United States National Security Agency, tensions may arise among these newfound alliances. This past October, Snowden revealed that “American intelligence agencies shared immense amounts of raw electronic and telephone data on U.S.-based Arabs, and, specifically, Palestinians, with Israeli counterparts over the last few years.” By arming Israeli intelligence against Palestinians who may or may not be involved with military operations halfway around the world, the United States jeopardized its already doubtful neutral stance on peace in the region. Even so, in an unexpected turn of events, Snowden revealed in December 2013 that the NSA had also been monitoring the communications of “then-serving Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Defense Minister Ehud Barak.” This severely dented the relationship between the allies, signaling a loss of trust between both nations. Current Israeli President, Benjamin Netenyahu, in a Likud party meeting in the Knesset, stated “in the close ties between Israel and the United States, there are things that must not be done and that are not acceptable to us,” amid an increasingly outraged Israeli public. Following this incident, relations between the United States and Israel have become increasingly tense, resulting in ineffective negotiations mediated by the United States. President Obama first held a phone conference with Netenyahu in an attempt to address the “serious concerns” he had with the “increasing number of casualties in Palestine.” However, the United States’ sway in the region has diminished significantly since the administration’s reluctance to act during the Syrian Civil War in 2013. This, coupled with the Snowden leaks from the NSA, has curtailed the United States’ ability to influence the current conflict. John Kerry visited Israel on July 21 to convince Netenyahu and Mahmoud Abbas, the leader of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) to a humanitarian cease-fire; his efforts were futile. However, the new union formed between the United States and the aforementioned countries may lead to more progressive conciliation.Unfortunately, the NSA’s secrets do not stop at the US-Israel alliance; Snowden’s most recent reports show that the NSA had been monitoring the private communications of 35 heads of state, including German chancellor Angela Merkel, as well as hiring “a walk-in German agent” who could provide details about the inner-workings of German Intelligence; the information may or may not have been valuable, but the breach of privacy resulted in the expulsion of the Berlin CIA chief, a great loss to national security partnerships for both nations. German indignation at the invasion of privacy swiftly turned into a shrewd proposal towards a security collaboration, which led to the current coalition attempting to mediate the growing tensions that are slowly spreading to other Middle Eastern regions. The irony grows with the fact that German Federal Intelligence Agency (BND) has tapped calls regarding Israel and Palestine from both John Kerry and Hilary Clinton. Apparently, the BND has “repeatedly recorded and reported calls from other U.S. politicians and other friendly nations,” according to NDR, a German public broadcaster. The BND has also kept tabs on Turkish authorities since 2009, claiming that the “PKK, extremist right and left wing organizations within Turkey were allegedly conducting human trafficking and drug trade in Germany.”It is fair to concede that in modern times, countries have to maintain intelligence on both friends and foe; understandably, German, Israeli and American authorities have to keep themselves posted on the goings-on of their international counterparts. However, resources that could have been used to further progressive deliberations and achieve a mutually beneficial solution with respect to the conflict between Israel and Palestine should not have been implemented to 'accidently' tap calls from Secretary of State John Kerry to Israeli authorities and the PLO. The Israeli government was then able to subvert peace talks using the terms of these negotiations. How is that conducive to domestic interests, not to mention international security? In an era where public image and information really determine the extent of a nation’s power, it is important for intelligence officials to realize that security and suspension of hostilities should be the first priority, and that the information they collect must be used to mediate ascension to those goals.Image by Markus Winkler