Israel: Strategic Asset or Strategic Liability

Since the U.S first recognized the state of Israel in 1948 U.S.-Israel relations have been close. The U.S. has supported Israel with billions of dollars in the form of grants and loans, the latest American technology and weaponry, as well as steadfast political backing against Israel’s Arab neighbors. Proponents of the U.S.-Israel alliance argue that Israel is a strategic asset to the U.S. and that the strategic partnership that exists between the two states is necessary for the success of U.S. foreign policy in the region. The historical record with regard to the establishment of the original Palestine Mandate shows that Western imperialism played a significant role in stripping the Palestinian people of the ancestral homeland for expedient and political reasons. Further, U.S. support for the creation of the state of Israel in the United Nations, largely due to domestic political concerns, only shifted the base of Western interference in Arab lands from Britain to the U.S. and it is this interference that has created so much anti-Americanism throughout the Middle East. This study seeks to explore all facets of the U.S-Israel alliance in order to determine the strategic value of Israel to the U.S. After giving Israel billions of dollars since 1948, provoking Soviet influence in the Middle East which almost brought the U.S. to the brink of nuclear war in 1973, suffering multiple attacks by al Qaeda, and fighting a costly war in Afghanistan to counter radical Islam, the reality lies closer to the characterization of Israel as a strategic liability.