Two Way Independence
In Many Ways, Israel is the Giver
and the US is the Receiver
Statements made by and the conduct of Israel’s leaders since 1993 create the false impression that Israel-US ties constitute a one-way relationship. The presumption is that the US gives and Israel receives, leading to Israel’s inferior position and the alleged compulsion to follow the State Department dictates.
However, Former Secretary of State and NATO forces commander Alexander Haig refutes this claim, saying: “I am pro-Israel because Israel constitutes the largest US aircraft carrier that cannot be sunk, does not carry even one US soldier, and is located in a most critical region for US national security.”
On Israel’s 57th Independence Day, Israel enjoys a two-way Win-Win relationship with the US. Israel is equivalent of a high-return generous investment (by the US) made at a low price.
Israel shares with the US, systematically, experience gained during battle and counter-terrorism. It reduces American losses in Iraq and Afghanistan, minimizes the potential of terrorist attacks on US soil, upgrades US weapon systems, and contributes to the US economy.
Senator Daniel Inouye, the senior Democrat on the Defense Appropriations Panel, contends that Israeli information regarding Soviet military systems saved the US billions of dollars. He adds that the contribution, to the US, made by Israel’s intelligence is greater than that provided by all NATO countries combined.
The vice president of the F16 fighter jets manufacturer told me that Israel is responsible for some 600 modifications in the F16’s systems, which have spared the US billions of dollars and dozens of research and development years.
Israel’s utilization of US military systems is essential to Israel’s survival, but at the same time it provides US defense industries a competitive edge over European industries, while expanding US exports, creating US jobs and enhancing US national security. For example, Japan and South Korea preferred the “Hawkeye” surveillance plane and the MD-500 chopper, both acquired and upgraded by Israel, over the British “Nimrod” and the French-British “Gazelle”. Israel has been for the US defense industries that which Carl Lewis was for “Adidas”.
Indeed, innovative Israeli technologies have a similar effect on American civilian and agricultural industries, which consider Israel the second most attractive site (following the US) for acquisitions and research and development investments.
As early as 1952, US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs-of-Staff, Omar Bradley, called for the integration of Israel into the defense of the Eastern Mediterranean, in light of its location and capabilities.
In 1967, Israel held back a radical Arab, pro-Soviet offensive, which threatened to topple pro-US Arab regimes and disrupt oil supply, thus severely undermining the US standard of living.
In 1970, Israel forced the rollback of a pro-USSR Syrian invasion of pro-US Jordan, at a time when the US was bogged down in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. Thus, it prevented the collapse of the Hashemite regime and a possible “Domino Effect” into Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states.
The 1976 “Jonathan (Entebbe) Operation” provided a tailwind to the US war on international terror, while in 1977 it was Israeli intelligence that foiled pro-USSR Qaddafi’s attempt to assassinate pro-US Sadat.
In 1982, Israel’s air force wiped out Soviet surface to air missile batteries (without a loss of a single aircraft), deployed by Syria in Eastern Lebanon. The missiles were perceived immune to US air force. Israel promptly shared with the US the operational lessons – estimated at billions of dollars – thus altering the global balance of power, which contributed to the eventual demise of the USSR.
In 1981, Israel bombed the Iraqi nuclear reactor, providing the US with the conventional option during the 1991 and 2003 wars on Iraq, and sparing the globe a multi-billion dollar nuclear war with its terrible price of thousands killed.
In 2005, Israel provides the US with the world’s most extensive experience in homeland security and warfare against homicide bombers and car bombs. US soldiers train in IDF facilities, and Israeli-developed drones fly above the “Sunni Triangle” in Iraq, as well as in Afghanistan, providing US Marines with vital intelligence, preempting terrorist assaults and facilitating the takeover of terrorist bases.
Without Israel, the US would have been forced to deploy tens of thousands of American troops in the eastern Mediterranean Basin, at an annual cost of dozens of billions of dollars. Had Israel been located in the Persian Gulf, the US would have been spared the need to send hundreds of thousands of soldiers to the region, thanks to Israel’s deterrence and operational capabilities.
Indeed, Congressional leaders, Vice President Cheney, and Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld are aware of Israel’s unique contribution to US interests and values. They wonder why the post-1993 Israel doesn’t leverage sufficiently such an impressive contribution in its counter-terrorist and diplomatic battles, in sharp contrast to the pre-1993 Israel.