Category Archives: Malaysia

The Emptiest Threat


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Angry Malaysians

Two days ago the Malaysian defense minister announced that his country’s armed forces “are ready to play a role” in the aftermath of Trump’s decision to move the American embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Not to underestimate the prowess of the Malaysian military, but what kind of “role” could they possibly be thinking of? Assuming that they plan to send troops to “liberate” Jerusalem, I wonder how they would pull it off.

Malaysia is approximately 5000 air miles from Israel. If they transported troops and equipment by water, they could reach the southern tip of Israel at Eilat; Jerusalem is 153 miles north of Eilat and the trip can take between 4 and 5 hours If they chose another route, they would have to pass through Saudi Arabia and then Jordan or Egypt. How likely is it that any of those countries would allow the Malaysians to use their territory to invade Israel?  Iran, which does not share a border with Israel, is content to use their Hamas proxies in Gaza to stir up trouble with Israel; and Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian dictator is currently otherwise engaged in fighting his own insurgents. The Malaysian forces would be sitting ducks in the Red Sea, and it is highly doubtful that the Israelis would allow their ships to to get anywhere near Israel.

If they plan to airlift their troops and equipment, they would have to land in one of the aforementioned Arab countries or Iran.  In addition, the Global Firepower website ranks Israel at 15th in overall military power and Malaysia at 33rd (Iran comes in at 21st). If the Malaysians are serious about “playing a role” in Jerusalem, they ought to think about a role that doesn’t involve military action.

Empty threats are signs of weakness and reveal that there is very little that the Arabs and their allies can realistically do about Trump’s decision. Anytime the Arabs and their supporters look weak and unserious is a good time for Israel.