Aletho News

Why is the U.S. government such a gigantic lapdog for Israel?

By Jesse Attreau | The Unintimidated Press | February 23, 2011

Correct me if I’m wrong, but the image that I have of a lapdog is one of a homely looking mongrel of some sort or another panting rapidly with tail wagging uncontrollably, sitting upright by its master’s leg while waiting patiently for its next command.

Oh, yeah, and a little slobbering might be taking place as well.

Did you ever notice how relations on the state level can sometimes take on the appearance of that of a lapdog association? Consider the strange relationship between the United States and Israel, with the U.S. being the lapdog and Israel the master.

The only difference is instead of Israel saying, “Hey, United States, go fetch my shoes,” it says, “Hey, United States, go fetch my money.” And, boy, does the U.S. Congress respond. Resembling a good little lapdog, it immediately goes galloping back to the American taxpayers – slobbering and wagging its tail uncontrollably all along the way – and fleeces us again for another billion or 2… or 3… or 50!!!

For instance, consider just the last 12 or 13 years.

According to the BBC, from 1998 thru 2007 the United States gave Israel $2.4 billion a year in aid. In 2008, it began a new aid package for Israel for $3 billion a year over the next ten years. That’s a total of $54 billion for just those two decades alone. It doesn’t count the billions we had already heaped on Israel prior to 1998. Nor does it include the extra hundreds of millions, if not billions, we throw in on top – like the extra $200 million in military aid for Israel that Barack Obama said he would ask Congress for earlier this year. All totaled, we could easily be talking about a figure that goes well into the hundreds of billions of dollars. All for a little spit of land on the shores of the Mediterranean about the size of New Jersey and inhabited by only around 5 million people, give or take.

For what?

Has anyone ever considered asking just what in the hell is it that justifies this lavish outpouring of largesse? It’s a level of devotion similar to what one might expect to see in a parent toward a child. On the state level I don’t think there is a precedent. I mean, I could see it maybe if Israel had saved the United States’ ass from destruction or something. But from my vantage point, the only thing that Israel has ever done for the United States is bring the United States worldwide scorn and condemnation – not counting any Americans who might have lost their lives from terrorist attacks as a consequence of our government’s lapdog devotion to Israel.

Don’t tell me that $3 billion a year is just a drop in the bucket when compared to the overall federal budget. It was for budgetary reasons that the Senate just cut from a spending bill $1.2 billion that was supposed to go to black farmers to make up for years of discrimination by the Agriculture Department. It also cut $3.4 billion for a settlement with American Indians. Apparently the Senate doesn’t think such numbers are just a drop in the bucket.

Government officials and others typically describe Israel as the United States’ strongest friend and ally in the Middle East.

Strongest friend and ally?

You won’t find any Israeli troops fighting alongside ours in Afghanistan. Nor would you have found any in Iraq either. And if you went back and checked the record, you’d also see that there weren’t any fighting alongside ours in Operation Desert Storm in Kuwait in 1991. You see, whenever our troops conduct military operations in that part of the world we need logistical support from the Arab and/or Islamic countries in the region – Saudi Arabia, for instance. Those countries typically stipulate that we can’t have their support if Israel is involved in the operations. Hence, Israel is always left out of the equation.

What good is a friend or ally if you can never call on them?

I’ve heard some people try to characterize the alliance between the United States and Israel as being one of “strategic importance.”

Strategic importance?

It’s hard to see how. We could never station any troops there. We could never conduct any military operations from there. And Israel doesn’t even have any significant oil or natural gas deposits. So what in the hell is strategic?

The United States government continuously reaffirms its commitment to Israel’s security, and just recently did so again.

Oh? Why?

Why are we responsible for Israel’s security? What has Israel ever done for the United States? Or better yet, what does Israel ever do for the United States, period? As an American taxpayer I don’t feel any obligation for Israel’s security, do you? The time has come for the American people to take a stand on this issue and demand an end to this never ending spigot of largesse that’s derived from our hard earned tax dollars and could easily go into the trillions one day if it’s not stopped.

Some people might argue that without the commitment of the United States to Israel’s security, Israel might be overrun by its Arab neighbors. Although I do support Israel’s right to exist, it would be relatively inconsequential to the United States if Israel were to be overrun. It’s not like it would be any skin off our back. Unfortunate, maybe, but nothing for Americans to lose sleep over. In fact, it might even result in less terrorist attacks and fewer dead Americans.

The strange relationship between the United States and Israel constitutes American foreign policy at its stupidest. I’m afraid we picked the wrong side to throw in with here, people. I mean, out of all the sides to choose from we pick the tiniest, most-hated, most out numbered – perhaps as much as 30 to 1, or even greater – and most surrounded. How wise was that?

When you consider the evolution of modern weaponry and its availability, it’s doubtful whether all the money in the U.S. treasury would be enough to protect Israel’s security against those odds. On the surface it would appear to be futile.

Not only that, in the process of trying, the United States might have inadvertently created a potentially very dangerous situation down the road. For instance, the U.S. government has a policy to insure that Israel has the military might that it needs to defeat any combination of its neighbors. The problem with that policy is when you do that you create a monster. And indeed, the United States and some of its western partners have armed Israel to the teeth.

How much so? Let’s put it this way: We better hope that Israel never gets mad at us.

There’s significant reason to believe that Israel has armed its submarines with nuclear-armed cruise missiles. Now, the lowest estimate that I’ve seen for the number of weapons in its nuclear arsenal is 200 – a figure that I consider to be conservative.That’s enough destructive power to literally level the United States. Theoretically, Israel could park its submarines off our shores and just lob away.

Did someone say American foreign policy at its stupidest?

Yeah, I know. I know. You’re probably thinking that such a scenario is so far-fetched that I should probably be labeled as some sort of a crackpot for even suggesting such a thing. Yeah, but keep in mind we’re talking about human beings here and the fickle nature of human emotions. Relations between individuals can turn on a dime. Well, the same can be said when it comes to relations on the state level. And when we’re talking about that kind of destructive power, any chance is too much no matter how minuscule it may appear to be.

At the absolute minimum, arming Israel to the teeth just emboldens it to believe it can do whatever it wants. Why do you think after all these years there still isn’t a lasting resolution between the Palestinians and Israel? Israel knows that the Palestinians can’t shake a stick at it militarily. Consequently, there’s little incentive for it to strike a deal. It’s for that same reason that there’s little incentive for Israel to withdraw from its illegal occupation of Syria’s Golan Heights.

Clearly, an emboldened Israel is the major obstacle to achieving peace in the Middle East.

And lastly, the strange and bizarre relationship between the United States and Israel is just another example of the Congress catering to special interests. Make no mistake about it, Israel is just another special interest. There’s even a very powerful pro-Israel lobby in Washington called the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC. I think I’ll just leave it there.

Copyright 2010 Jesse Attreau

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