I tell you, Andrew Sullivan is getting religion:
Strategically, Israel is obviously a huge burden for the US, making relations with Muslim or Arab nations much harder, and undermining any attempt to portray American intervention in, say, Iraq or Afghanistan, as beneficent rather than predatory. It’s a big drain on the Treasury, as Israel consumes a vast amount of military and non-military aid.
It’s a big blow to any attempt by the US to restrain nuclear weaponry, since Israel has 150 nuclear weapons and threatens regional and global war if its monopoly is in any way challenged. And it means that American money is directly connected to the mass killings of civilians in Gaza last January. Despite all this, an American president’s primary concern is maintaining the support of Israel!
Yes, despite all this…. Why? Next stop: the Israel lobby! (h/t Peter Voskamp)
That piece by Levy is going viral!
as phil pointed out the other day, this reinforces the w&m idea of an israel lobby… what else explains getting the usa and congress to act like a bunch of morons??
“And it means that American money is directly connected to the mass killings of civilians in Gaza last January”
Slowly we are getting to the heart of the matter……if the American people ever come to understand that just as in the domestic issues of banking and finance we have been had by our leaders, in foreign policy whether iraq, iran, syria, afghanistan……all have blowback tentacles to the Lieberman, Schumer, Lantos (long time member of the House International Relations Committee prior to his death) brigade who placed guarding Israel above caring for America. All human rights warriors except for the Palestinians. The buck stops at Congress.
If there was ever a “Mylai Massacre” moment for American Jewry, the assault on Gaza and Goldstone’s Report are it. The only thing missing (and it’s a big miss) is a LIFE Magazine spread like the one which blew the lid off the Vietnam War. And you know what? we are never going to get that dramatic revelation of war-crimes in high-def photos on the kitchen table. The Goldstone Report itself (below) is a ‘dry as dust’ 452 page slog with no photos, which no one will read. The news cycle has already left the story of Gaza in it’s wake, and is so happy to show Arab on Arab violence, violence which the cycle itself caused (I watched how it did it), and which it uses to gin up the next front in the War on Terror.
link to scribd.com
I’m GLAD that the US has a “brother’s keeper” relationship with Israel.
It allows the US to be of help (with limits), and to hold accountable (with limits).
Well that is amusing – hold accountable (with limits). When has USA held Israel accountable? Not after 1956.
Both economically and militarily this “brother’s keeper” relationship doesn’t make any sense to USA. In 2008 USA exported to Israel worth 5.5 billion Euro and imported from there worth 13.6 billion. So the trade deficit was 8.1 billion. If we add to it the billions in loans and donations this relationship doesn’t make any economical sense to USA .
Militarily the relationship doesn’t give any “help” to USA in Middle East. USA can not use Israeli troops in coalitions around Middle East. The ability to use occasionally Israeli airports and harbours is not worth the costs. Israel is useful as a partner in war only in a total war.
From the aspect of democracy and free trade Israel is a huge political and diplomatic covenant for USA.
Same conclusions could be made with the Israel EU relationship, besides the fact that EU had in 2008 a 3 billion surplus in the trade with Israel.
“I’m GLAD that the US has a “brother’s keeper” relationship with Israel.
It allows the US to be of help (with limits), and to hold accountable (with limits).”
Thank you for admitting, Richard, that Israel is completely unsustainable on any basis except as a colony of the US. It’s about time you did, explicitly.
Jeez, man, I hope you get a job soon. You are not doing yourself any favors with your posts here.
I tell you, don’t count on Andrew Sullivan for anything but the crassest stupidity, when push comes to shove. Or don’t you remember his perceptive views on the War on Iraq?
The guy is useless, and best ignored, whatever he says.
cogit8 – like Time on Mylai, the anti-Apartheid movement benefitted from the popularity of Hugh Masekela and other South African musicians sponsored by Paul Simon, Herb Alpert and other US Jews. In contrast Arabic music is repressed by record execs.
LIFE magazine on Mylai, not Time.