Patrick Henningsen: Greater Israel Lies in Ruins: The Inside Story of a Total Collapse

The United States and Israel consistently use negotiations not as a path to genuine settlement, but as a strategic facade to gain leverage and alter facts on the ground. This involves manipulating the process to undermine the opposing side or enhance their own negotiating position, often through tactical moves that change the geopolitical reality before an agreement can be finalized.

Patrick Henningsen states, 'I'm just looking at the pattern of behavior from the United States and how they conduct themselves in negotiations and how they use negotiations as a type of a facade or a smokescreen to try to make various tactical moves in order to improve their leverage and their in their eyes their negotiating positions by altering facts on the ground.' He adds, 'I think they've learned this from the Israelis. This is the standard Israeli practice for negotiations.'

The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Lebanon and Israel was engineered by figures like Marco Rubio, in coordination with the Israeli government, specifically to undermine and sabotage a broader US-Iran agreement. This Lebanese MOU is considered a 'treasonous act' by the Lebanese president and prime minister, as it legitimizes Israeli occupation and weakens Lebanon's position, without parliamentary ratification or public support.

Henningsen states, 'Marco Rubio was behind the scenes engineering this deal, this normalization deal between Beirut and Israel... They fully intended to make this to undermine the MOU. That's why they've done it. This was a bureaucratic and a sort of sneaky way to kill the agreement between the US and Iran.' He later calls it 'one of the most treasonous acts in the history of Lebanon.'

Israel, with US support, actively seeks to instigate a violent civil war in Lebanon. This chaos would serve as a 'great opportunity' to solidify existing territorial gains, expand security buffer zones, and seize control over lucrative offshore gas fields that legitimately belong to Lebanon. The Lebanese armed forces' policy of non-engagement against Israel further facilitates this objective.

Henningsen asserts, 'This is the only out for Israel is a violent civil war in Lebanon. That's that's their out.' He adds that Israel will 'extend their security line into the sea' to retain control over 'two very lucrative gas fields, offshore gas fields that do belong to Lebanon.' He also notes the Lebanese army's policy 'is not to engage Israel.'

Donald Trump's perceived political weakness, characterized by a lack of resolute beliefs and a susceptibility to manipulation by the Israel lobby and hawkish elements within his party and the media, has directly contributed to the worsening of regional conflicts. His administration's actions, despite rhetoric, have led to increased instability and damage to the US's international reputation.

Henningsen states, 'He's not a very strong political leader. He's very weak. He is one of the weakest US presidents in history.' He attributes the worsening Ukraine and Gaza situations to 'Trump's weakness,' noting he 'has no resolute beliefs or principles at all.'