Train(wreck)spotting in the Middle East

The Israeli government has been running a blockade on Gaza for a few years.  Recently an attempt by activists to bring aid through it was met with That Thing That Governments Do, and there’s been a lot of reaction to it already.  Here’s an example that really caught my eye, due to the comparison made:

True, Israel’s economy is thriving and North Korea’s is not.  That said, both countries are diplomatically isolated except for their ties to a great power benefactor.   Both countries are pursuing autarkic policies that immiserate millions of people.  The majority of the population in both countries seem blithely unaware of what the rest of the world thinks.  Both countries face hostile regional environments.  Both countries keep getting referred to the United Nations.  And, in the past month, the great power benefactor is finding it more and more difficult to defend their behavior to the rest of the world.

Amy Goodman?  A random al-Jazeera reporter?  Nope, Daniel Drezner.

Radical times…