Subject: Re: Peace Plan might not even be about Gaza's Fut
it's certainly a massive reorientation of U.S foreign policy from what it has traditionally been... because five decades of policy is enough for that to become our traditional foreign policy. Trump's foreign policy inarguably represents a significant break from U.S. foreign policy over the last fifty years.

Fifty years? More like...25. Bill Clinton's foreign policy was about trade with China. Bush43 was the first to really push the notion of the US exporting democracy.

Prior to Clinton, Bush41/Reagan/Ford/Nixon/LBJ/JFK/Eisenhower/Kennedy all pursued some version of Realpolitik or other.

You clearly agree with that change, but I don't think there's any basis for claiming that this isn't a Trump choice to move away from our traditional approach to foreign policy to one from a more historic era.

I believe in meeting the world where it is, not where I wish it to be.
I'll remind you that the entire Cold War era of foreign policy was predicated not necessarily on human rights and exporting democracy but primarily oriented towards keeping the Soviets out. Would you say that places like South Korea, Vietnam, Honduras, El Salvador and other flash point or potential flash point countries were models of open government?

So now the ME governments feel like they have more room to move towards aligning with the U.S. They know that we're not going to be trying to promote democracy or freedom anywhere anytime soon, so they've got more comfort in cozying up to us. That's why I think the Peace Plan might be more about leveraging that moment to affect change outside of Gaza, rather than an effort to carve up Gaza to the ME countries. Normalizing relations with Israel may be the bigger prize for them, not getting some useless beachfront property deals.

The Middle East has always backed The Strong Horse. It's in the United States' interest to be that strong horse. It's really that simple. The Arabs have seen the Israelis' capabilities up close including

-Taking out Iran's entire air defense network in 3 or so days
-Decapitating all of Hezbollah's leadership in a single day
-Decapitating all of Hamas' leadership
-Wiping out thousands of Hamas' fighters

The above 4 things represent a capability of direct + asymmetrical warfare that the Arab countries can't possibly match.

So they face a choice. Put aside the Fist In The Air Justice For Palestine stuff and team up with the Israelis against their *other* enemy of Iran -or- continue a cause for a people that have (in the Arab mind) outlived their usefulness and who are now more trouble than they're worth (yes, that is a very ruthless way to put it but this is the perspective over there; I merely repeat it). And as a bonus get closer to the United States.

Behind door number 2 is having Mossad raise hell inside your country knowing that you have zero ability to stop it or retaliate in any meaningful *plus* you piss off Uncle Sam.

So it's a very easy call.

The line appears to be China's eastern coastline. What does FBC stand for?

That it is. Notice the Phoenix's colors are China's national colors also. FBC stands for "Freaking beat China", with "Freaking" standing for something else, if you take my meaning. The other acronyms are Air Combat Command (ACC) and the Special Missions Office (SMO).