Hegseth Praises Israel, Overlooks Gulf Partners
SkimNews Take
China's partnership network provides insulation from the costly entanglements pulling the U.S. into Middle Eastern wars, but that same insulation leaves Beijing with no mechanism to shape outcomes when its partners come under fire — exposing a structural tradeoff between avoiding entanglements and wielding influence.
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- Pete Hegseth told reporters that fighting "shoulder to shoulder" with Israel is a "true force multiplier" and "a breath of fresh air," praising Israel for "unmatched skill and iron determination"
- Six Gulf partners — the UAE, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia — "stood resilient and performed remarkably well" against Iranian retaliatory missile and drone attacks but received far less US attention and praise than Israel
- Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, acknowledged that Gulf partners and allies are defending alongside the United States, yet the article argues the "full strategic aspect" of their contribution "appears to be overlooked"
- The article frames the war as exposing alliance limits: rhetorical partnerships and battlefield contributions are diverging in real time, with the asymmetry starkest between Israel and the Gulf defenders
- The piece positions this US-Israel-Gulf dynamic as a cautionary signal for rival alliance networks — including China's — about how US attention and protection are distributed when a war is actually underway
Why it matters: When a war is live, the gap between rhetorical partnerships and battlefield contributions becomes visible to every regional capital. Six Gulf states that physically intercepted Iranian attacks are being overshadowed in US messaging, which forces Middle Eastern partners to recalibrate how much US security guarantees are actually worth — and reframes debates about which alliances truly hold under fire.
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