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The Israeli war cabinet has unanimously decided to continue its operations in Rafah, in an attempt to maintain pressure on Hamas, as reported by Jeff Paul. The question of which nation leads “The West” was also addressed in the report.
The report referred to a PBS series and companion book by historian Niall Ferguson, which argue that the defining characteristics of “The West” are competition, science, the rule of law, consumerism, modern medicine, and the work ethic. These hallmarks exclude tyrannies such as China, Russia, Iran and their puppet states, but crucially do not include the element of freedom, defined as a significant measure of individual liberty, which should be inherent to any member nation of “The West”.
According to the report, member states of “The West” should have free elections, guarantee freedom of conscience, speech, and almost always movement within their boundaries to their citizens. Additionally, the Constitution of member states may either be written, as is the case in the United States, or unwritten, as in the United Kingdom.
Countries can join or be expelled from “The West”, as seen with Venezuela which lost its status, whereas countries like Poland were able to join after leaving the defunct “Warsaw Pact”. Indeed, Ukraine, currently in conflict, aspires to be part of “The West”. Japan, once a tyranny, is now among the West’s leaders after its defeat in 1945.
Despite such definitions, identifying the leading nation of “The West” is difficult. Until December 7, 1941, the United Kingdom was the leader, but after Pearl Harbor, the United States assumed the role and has largely kept it over the years. However, the report implies that changes and contradictions within the U.S. may have diluted its leadership role.
The report suggests that Israel might be the only current eligible candidate to fill the leadership void, despite its ongoing conflicts and divided opinion on the global stage. The role of the United States in supporting Israel was also touched upon. If the United States cannot proudly stand with Israel, it might have to relinquish its title of leadership of “The West” for a season.
The report concluded by stating that as long as the West was committed to the freedoms indicated, any citizen of the West could look to Israel as an example of a nation committed to defending its citizens’ freedom, despite extraordinary losses of life and treasure.
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