Aid to Israel is not charity. It is one of the most profitable strategic investments the United States has ever made — and a prototype of Trump's vision for the rest of our alliances.
After the Six-Day War, Bill Buckley commented--somewhat tongue-in-cheek--that "...maybe we *should* sign that mutual security pact with Israel...if only for our own protection!"
I was all-in for that, but it never happened. Still...maybe he was a prophet before his time on that.
It did not, BUT Israel did get MNNA (Major Non-NATO Ally) status in 1987. It's been a lot better investment than France or Germany have been lately (though I'm all about Poland, Sweden and Estonia!).
Israel has historically allowed the US to control the Middle East and create the PetroDollar by ensuring that the Islamists, Pan-Arab nationalists, and a Soviet Allied countries could not unify and dominate the Middle East.
An incredibly beneficial arrangement all around. And now, amazingly, Israel is itself an energy exporter! Between that and their capitalist conversion, they're going to become what Hong Kong used to be, but with a Mediterranean climate and good beaches.
Thank you for this, Rod. This is truly my favorite piece you've ever written — I mean that sincerely.
I've long said that "Israel is the tip of the spear against our common enemies." I say that with deep respect and genuine awe. Our adversaries despise Israel and actively fight against her, and they hate America just as fiercely. That shared threat makes Israel our most vital and reliable ally in one of the world’s most dangerous and strategically critical regions.
What I especially appreciated about your article is how methodically you laid out the logical, practical, and non-religious strategic reasons for this alliance. It’s so clear and well-structured that I’m keeping it as a reference.
Of course, for many people the Judeo-Christian bonds remain the most important foundation, myself included. I fully understand that many others may disagree.
Thank you. And yes, whatever spiritual case one might make for Israel, from a geopolitical perspective, we actually need to be able to make the case for why this partnership makes temporal sense. And in point of fact, it's our highest-value alliance, and Trump's model for all the others. I thought someone should explain in detail why that's so.
👏👏👏 A tremendous deep dive into why Israel is an essential ally to the United States, Dr. Martin you made the case masterfully here! We’ve been aligned with Israel since 1967 and formal allies with them since the 1980s for good reason. First off, Israel deals with threats America can not and the rest of the West is too skittish to. Like in 1981 when they bombed and demolished Ba’athist Iraq’s nuclear facilities and denied Saddam the bomb. Iraq was a Soviet client state so America doing this would’ve meant World War III, but Israel doing it meant it could be demolished without any serious news tube repercussions. They then did the same to Syria’s nuclear program in 2007. Obama simply didn’t have the guts to do it. Israel did and Bashar Al-Assad was also denied the bomb. Israel also is at the frontline of fighting Jihadist groups so we don’t have to. Israel has badly damaged Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis. Furthermore, they are a bulwark against the Islamic Republic of Iran. True, we give them aid. But that aid mostly goes to defense contractors for joint U.S.-Israel projects that benefit both nations. Plus, this aid is invested back in America and it creates millions of jobs for Americans.
Their defense technology is state of the art and a very handy tool in countering China. Their weapons, defense systems and military vehicles are the best and everyone knows it. They also help keep American influence in the region alive and well so Russia, China, Iran, or Turkey can’t move in and take control of the region. Their defense systems like the Iron Dome, Iron Beam, David’s Sling, Arrow-2, Arrow-3, and other defense systems are essential to U.S. security. Going back to my point about their technology, what would the critics have us do, but from China instead? That hardly seems like America First! Israel is the only successful democracy the region has ever had. It has free speech, a free press, freedom of assembly, and freedom of religion. It’s the only place in the Middle East Christians are actually safe. Muslims, Bahai’i, Atheists, Agnostics, Druze, and others can practice their respective faiths in safety and security and free from persecution. Israeli Arabs have more rights and freedoms, more economic and educational opportunities, higher living standards, and a better quality of life overall than Arabs anywhere else in the Middle East especially Arab women who have doors opened to them in the Jewish state that would be closed to them anywhere else in the Middle East.
Women in Israel have full equal rights and women in the IDF are models of female empowerment and emancipation. LGBTQ+ people have almost all the rights they deserve and Israel recognizes same-sex marriages performed abroad. Disabled people are cared for, loved, valued, and are fully integrated into society. There are even affirmative action programs for them. If you are black, Bedouin, Palestinian, Kurdish, Berber, or a member of any other minority group, you live is a living h*** in any Arab country or Iran. I think people forget that Palestinians are literal second-class citizens in the Arab world. In Israel, Palestinians can become citizens. So much for being an apartheid state! You don’t see Israelis enslaving black Africans, killing women for getting raped, throwing gay people off buildings, performing child marriages, throwing acid in women’s faces, wiping or caning people in public, or kidnapping Yazidi girls and making them sex slaves. Israelis don’t tolerate exploitation of foreign workers, making women fully cover up, raping young boys, beheading people, stoning women for adultery, abusing animals, doing female genital mutilation, or bombing churches for the h*** of it. They are a little slice of western and liberal values in a very primitive, backwards, illiberal, and medieval region.
After the Six-Day War, Bill Buckley commented--somewhat tongue-in-cheek--that "...maybe we *should* sign that mutual security pact with Israel...if only for our own protection!"
I was all-in for that, but it never happened. Still...maybe he was a prophet before his time on that.
It did not, BUT Israel did get MNNA (Major Non-NATO Ally) status in 1987. It's been a lot better investment than France or Germany have been lately (though I'm all about Poland, Sweden and Estonia!).
Israel has historically allowed the US to control the Middle East and create the PetroDollar by ensuring that the Islamists, Pan-Arab nationalists, and a Soviet Allied countries could not unify and dominate the Middle East.
An incredibly beneficial arrangement all around. And now, amazingly, Israel is itself an energy exporter! Between that and their capitalist conversion, they're going to become what Hong Kong used to be, but with a Mediterranean climate and good beaches.
Thank you for this, Rod. This is truly my favorite piece you've ever written — I mean that sincerely.
I've long said that "Israel is the tip of the spear against our common enemies." I say that with deep respect and genuine awe. Our adversaries despise Israel and actively fight against her, and they hate America just as fiercely. That shared threat makes Israel our most vital and reliable ally in one of the world’s most dangerous and strategically critical regions.
What I especially appreciated about your article is how methodically you laid out the logical, practical, and non-religious strategic reasons for this alliance. It’s so clear and well-structured that I’m keeping it as a reference.
Of course, for many people the Judeo-Christian bonds remain the most important foundation, myself included. I fully understand that many others may disagree.
Thank you. And yes, whatever spiritual case one might make for Israel, from a geopolitical perspective, we actually need to be able to make the case for why this partnership makes temporal sense. And in point of fact, it's our highest-value alliance, and Trump's model for all the others. I thought someone should explain in detail why that's so.
👏👏👏 A tremendous deep dive into why Israel is an essential ally to the United States, Dr. Martin you made the case masterfully here! We’ve been aligned with Israel since 1967 and formal allies with them since the 1980s for good reason. First off, Israel deals with threats America can not and the rest of the West is too skittish to. Like in 1981 when they bombed and demolished Ba’athist Iraq’s nuclear facilities and denied Saddam the bomb. Iraq was a Soviet client state so America doing this would’ve meant World War III, but Israel doing it meant it could be demolished without any serious news tube repercussions. They then did the same to Syria’s nuclear program in 2007. Obama simply didn’t have the guts to do it. Israel did and Bashar Al-Assad was also denied the bomb. Israel also is at the frontline of fighting Jihadist groups so we don’t have to. Israel has badly damaged Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis. Furthermore, they are a bulwark against the Islamic Republic of Iran. True, we give them aid. But that aid mostly goes to defense contractors for joint U.S.-Israel projects that benefit both nations. Plus, this aid is invested back in America and it creates millions of jobs for Americans.
Their defense technology is state of the art and a very handy tool in countering China. Their weapons, defense systems and military vehicles are the best and everyone knows it. They also help keep American influence in the region alive and well so Russia, China, Iran, or Turkey can’t move in and take control of the region. Their defense systems like the Iron Dome, Iron Beam, David’s Sling, Arrow-2, Arrow-3, and other defense systems are essential to U.S. security. Going back to my point about their technology, what would the critics have us do, but from China instead? That hardly seems like America First! Israel is the only successful democracy the region has ever had. It has free speech, a free press, freedom of assembly, and freedom of religion. It’s the only place in the Middle East Christians are actually safe. Muslims, Bahai’i, Atheists, Agnostics, Druze, and others can practice their respective faiths in safety and security and free from persecution. Israeli Arabs have more rights and freedoms, more economic and educational opportunities, higher living standards, and a better quality of life overall than Arabs anywhere else in the Middle East especially Arab women who have doors opened to them in the Jewish state that would be closed to them anywhere else in the Middle East.
Women in Israel have full equal rights and women in the IDF are models of female empowerment and emancipation. LGBTQ+ people have almost all the rights they deserve and Israel recognizes same-sex marriages performed abroad. Disabled people are cared for, loved, valued, and are fully integrated into society. There are even affirmative action programs for them. If you are black, Bedouin, Palestinian, Kurdish, Berber, or a member of any other minority group, you live is a living h*** in any Arab country or Iran. I think people forget that Palestinians are literal second-class citizens in the Arab world. In Israel, Palestinians can become citizens. So much for being an apartheid state! You don’t see Israelis enslaving black Africans, killing women for getting raped, throwing gay people off buildings, performing child marriages, throwing acid in women’s faces, wiping or caning people in public, or kidnapping Yazidi girls and making them sex slaves. Israelis don’t tolerate exploitation of foreign workers, making women fully cover up, raping young boys, beheading people, stoning women for adultery, abusing animals, doing female genital mutilation, or bombing churches for the h*** of it. They are a little slice of western and liberal values in a very primitive, backwards, illiberal, and medieval region.
Thank you.