Haaretz Opinions
Here the fundamental difference between the rulers of Mongolia and Israel becomes clear. The Mongols excelled at systematic, rational, long-term thinking. Israel's thinking in recent years, by contrast, has lacked clear objectives, been shaped by extraneous considerations and come wrapped in bombastic declarations with no serious attention to logistics. Israel's long-term ambitions bear no relation to the financial, human and other resources at its disposal. In strategic terms, then, I find it insulting to compare Israel under its current leadership to Chinggis Khan's Mongol Empire. The Mongols deserve more credit.
Let us return to that Mongol "buffer zone," this time in the context of the bitter war fought from 1260 to 1320 between the Mongols in and around Iran, whose state was known as the Ilkhanate, and the Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt and Syria (which of course included the Land of Israel). The territory along the Euphrates and what is now the official border between Syria and Turkey was a frontier marked by raids from both sides, espionage, secret agents moving in both directions, terror and violence. Every few years, the Mongols also launched major campaigns into Syria. With one exception, the Mamluks always defeated them and drove them out.