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Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: U.S.-Israel Alliance
| quote: | Originally posted by Yoepus
Yes I can and no they aren't. |
Ok just off the top of my head using war as an example, Israel do not help out the US like the UK and France does. Its a completely one way alliance with Israel recieving the benefits
| quote: | | Firstly, Israel receives only defense aid today from the USA. It receives this aid because it is the only USA ally under current threat of annihilation. |
I'm sorry but that is simply rubbish. Who poses an existential threat to Israel today?! It has one of the most powerful armies in the world and is a nuclear power ffs!!
| quote: | | In other periods of time, when the UK and France faced annihilation they recieved even greater military aid. After WWII they also recieved substantial economic assistance to allow them to restore their status to first rate economies. |
Thats true but like I said, there hasn't been an existential threat to Israel since Yom Kippur. Also the US got so much more out of the Martial Plan. Can you imagine how much income the US recieves from European based American companies? That is a massive income and the same type of benefits the US recieves from similar examples in Israel pale into significance - Europe has 460,000,000 consumers, Israel has 6 million
| quote: | | Both the USA-France alliance and the USA-UK relationship are older than the state of Israel. You are indeed comparing a young-fling to a marriage. |
Yea a traditional two-way alliance
| quote: | Right |
Here's a quote out of Anne Norton's book Leo Strauss and the Politics of American Empire...
| quote: | | “The presumption that American interests are at one with the interests of Israel - whether for secular or religious reasons - is a corner stone of American foreign policy. The grand strategy that Paul Wolfowitz framed in the wake of 9/11 entailed a plan, announced throughout the media, for attacking not only Iraq but Syria and southern Lebanon. The United States, recognising its own power and using it wilfully, would inaugurate a new order in the Middle East. The plan was built conceptually and geographically around the centrality of Israel. Israel was democratic, hence protecting Israel was protecting democracy, however undemocratic the actions required, however undemocratic the regional consequences. States surrounding Israel, states which presented a threat to Israel, would be attacked … preemptively. This strategy could be understood as advancing American interests and security only if one saw those as identical to the interests and security of Israel.” |
Also have a read of these...
Pat Buchanan - "Who's War" http://www.amconmag.com/03_24_03/cover.html
Tom Barry - "Douglas Feith: Portrait of a Neoconservative" http://www.antiwar.com/barry/?articleid=3545
And straight from the horses mouth - Robert Kagan & William Kristol - "A green light for Israel" http://www.newamericancentury.org/m...st-20010827.htm
| quote: | | Don't forget how the British intelligene services convienced Bush of the non-existant WMD. British intelligence in Arabia was much more developed than American intelligence and they were the first to bring 'evidence' of WMD to the USA and the USA was proded by British to do something about it. |
I dont think British intelliegence is more developed than America anywhere in the world!! As for the UK producing intelligence about WMDs that is true but what's all this about pushing America to do something about it?! The "dodgy dossier" was designed to win public support, not convince America to attack Iraq!!! America had already decided to attack as soon as the planes hit the Twin Towers, and Tony Blair knew he would have to be involved, so the intelligence was for the British publics benefit, not for America's
| quote: | Just because the USA is expending several billion a year on Israel does not mean it is not receiving in turn. Israeli military research and technology development is perhaps one of the most innovative and developed in the world. The biggest client of Israel's military industry is the USA. Israel has developed many leading technologies and tactics to fight todays war. UAVs were being used by Israel since the early 80s if not earlier. They have only been adapted by the USA in the past 5 years.
Further more, Israelis high-tech industry is perhaps the most innovative in the world. Bringing you such wonders as instant messaging, the pentium chip, the celeron, integrated wifi, and more and more.
Theres a lot of trade between the two countries and a lot of co-operation. If it wasn't in the grand scheme of things a mutually benificial relationship it simply would not exist. |
What...a...load...of...crap
Its called being a modern economy, funnily enuf quite a few countries produce similar commodittees as the Israelis for America to buy, and guess what? They dont get billions in military aid because of it. Sorry but Israeli industry simply does not explain the unusual alliance. As for "a lot of trade" that doesn't explain it either. America has "a lot of trade" with quite a few countries. The EU is America's major trading partner (and Israel's) but do we get billions of military and economic aid?! No we get tariffs!!
I think you're avoiding a very significant reality and that is religion. No matter how much you rabbit on about how good Israeli industry is, it will never explain what IS a very unique alliance. The UK and France produce high-tech commodities and the alliance both of those two have with America is very different from Israels. You can say they are the same all you want but they simply are not. The UK and France's alliance is enshrined in NATO - we are equal partners. We help each other out. Israel does no such thing for America.
Israel used to serve a strategic purpose and now the Cold War is over that purpose is dead. America does not need Israel to protect oil, it is quite capable, as recently proven, of looking after Middle Eastern oil on its own. Yet the alliance is as strong as ever. Israel gives less to America than the UK or France does, yet Israel gets so much more than either of those two. Now you're gonna turn round and talk to me about this supposed existential threat - but it does not exist. That leaves us with religion. Support for Israel is inbedded in American culture because of apocolyptic evangelical Christain beliefs. 70 million evangelicals in America, thats a quarter of the population, and they form an extremely powerful bloc in American politics. They support Israel cos they think they have some kind of affinity with Jews (obviously they have little grasp over history but anyway) They need Israel for the second coming of Jesus and there are many many religious head cases in the American government who share these fundamentalist beliefs, including Bush
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