Why do we Support Israel?

[rsliu]

I've read in several places that the US gives more of its foreign aid budget, not to mention diplomatic and military support, to Israel than it does to any other country. My question is, why is this good US policy? I've thought of three reasons, but they all seem bad:

Morality - Yes, Israel is the only democratic country in the Middle East, and yes, it would be morally wrong to abandon an ally. But if you look at the history of US foreign policy, morality has never been a prime concern for American decision makers. We supported a corrupt, dictatorial regime in South Vietnam and needlessly wasted thousands of lives in order to further our anti communist agenda. We overthrew popularly elected leaders in several Latin American countries because they were too far to the left. We deposed a popular and democratically elected prime minister in Iran (in the 50's, and now it's coming back to bite us in the ass) because he had the temerity to nationalize Iran's oil production in order to prevent Britain and the US from stealing Iran's oil. The list goes on and on. Clearly US foreign policy is guided by American interests first, and morality second. This is exactly as it should be.

Strategic Benefits - Yes, Israel and the US share much of the same intelligence, and many of Israel's enemies are the same as the US's enemies. But if you take a step back, you begin to realize that many of these enemies hate us precisely because of our support for Israel. If you read bin Laden's speeches after 9/11, it's clear that al Queda attacked the US for two primary reasons: our military bases in Saudi Arabia, and our alliance with Israel. The leader of Hezbollah stated that he had no quarrel with the US but for it's partnership with Israel. What worth are having these strategic benefits if they are the root cause of, and not the solution to, our current problems in the middle east?

Israel needs the US - Some argue that Israel will be destroyed without American help, which as the current conflict shows is a patently ridiculous argument. Even if we cut off all aid to Israel today, it's current armed forces are more than a match for all the surrounding Arab countries for decades to come. Furthermore, it's not exactly a secret that they possess nuclear weapons. In fact, it may be because Israel is so grossly overpowered from decades of US aid that believes it can act with arrogant impunity instead of working to build better relations with its Arab neighbors.

Those are my points, I'm curious to hear what others think on this subject. FWIW I do not deny Israel's right to exist, nor do I hate Jews. I'm simply questioning the alliance from a pragmatic standpoint.

[iron81]

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rsliu's post

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QFT

I would only add what I said in a previous post about the Israel - US relationship and point out that Israel's oppression of the Palestinians doesn't exactly make them a model democracy.

[boracay]

geopolitics

[canis582]

Don't for get the rapturists that believe Jesus won't come back until the Jews return to Israel. (GWB wouldn't have been elected without them)

[LadyWrestler]

We support each other.

There are many reasons why the United States and Israel are strong allies. I will list some of them.

1. The modern nation of Israel has been our friend since it became a nation in 1948. 58 years is a long time for a steady, unwavering friendship between two nations. That cannot be taken lightly.

2. We have a lot in common as nations. We understand each other. The United States and Israel are nations created out of ideas, with populations that came from all over the world. That is rare.

3. The majority of our citizens want to continue being friends with Israel and the majority of Israel's citizens want to continue being friends with us.

In addition to those reasons, we are on the same side in a very serious war.

We all need friends, possibly more during difficult times. These are very difficult times, and the United States and Israel are very good friends.

[canis582]

nations don't have friends, they have interests. The common interest is subjugating the Arab people.

[LadyWrestler]

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nations don't have friends, they have interests. The common interest is subjugating the Arab people.

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We disagree. Have a great day! [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[Good Idea]

Israel is also surrounded by neighbors who want them destroyed. How would you handle the situation if you were Israel?

Regards,
G.I.

[Cancuk]

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Morality - Yes, Israel is the only democratic country in the Middle East,

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Technically speaking, the following countries are also democratic, although some aren't seen as it:

Turkey
Lebanon
Jordan
Egypt

[PLOlover]

AIPAC