Trita Parsi

in the favor of the Israelis.

And if the US leaves, then Israel is gonna be faced with a completely different scenario.

Now, I don't think Israel will get destroyed at all, but Israel is gonna have to deal with the region in a completely different manner, not based on domination or creating all of this chaos that they have helped fuel in order to keep everyone else weak.

Absolutely.

Look, what did the Europeans do after World War II?

They realized that the effort to contain and isolate Germany after World War I only led the way, paved the way for World War II.

Exactly.

So they shifted towards the European Union, the steel and coal union, et cetera, in order to increase economic interdependence between themselves, to create as many buffers as possible for another war, making it as costly as possible for the states to go to war.

Absolutely.

It took some time, of course, but it emerged as a major power and a force for stability in Europe as well.

And I grew up in Europe.

When I grew up, it was completely inconceivable that France and Germany would ever go to war with each other again.

And that's still, despite the fact that 50 years ago, they were butchering each other that made Middle Easterners look good.

That transition is a remarkable transition.

And it is because they transitioned to collective security and recognizing that any country's security is based on everyone else's security.

Yes.

And in region, I think it's going to be very difficult.

I don't want to in any way, shape or form put forward some sort of a naive picture, but I think they've had a close encounter with death and that tends to sharpen your mind.

Yes.

It tends to make you a bit more mature.