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Is Israel in America's Interest?

[Azure-Shalem Center] Martin Kramer - U.S. support for Israel is not primarily the result of Holocaust guilt or shared democratic values; nor is it produced by the machinations of the "Israel Lobby." American support for Israel underpins the pax Americana in the eastern Mediterranean. It has compelled Israel's key Arab neighbors to reach peace with Israel and to enter the American orbit. The fact that there has not been a general Arab-Israeli war since 1973 is proof that this pax Americana, based on the U.S.-Israel alliance, has been a success. From a realist point of view, supporting Israel has been a low-cost way of keeping order in part of the Middle East, managed by the U.S. from offshore and without the commitment of any force. It is, simply, the ideal realist alliance. In contrast, the problems the U.S. faces in the Persian Gulf stem from the fact that it does not have an Israel equivalent there, and so it must massively deploy its own force at tremendous cost. The U.S. acts in this region not in the interests of Israel, but to keep the world's great reserves of oil out of the grip of the West's sworn enemies.
2006-10-13 01:00:00
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