Is supporting Israel truly in America’s best interest?
Whenever I bring up the question of Americas financial aid to Israel, inevitably someone will always try to squash any discussion by concocting “American interests” that are supposedly being protected by Israel. History however seems to paint a quite different story.
It seems that our trusted ally has a strange record of attacking its best friend whenever that friend stands in the way. According to this CNN article, in 1967 Israel deliberately bombed USS Liberty, murdering 34 american sailors and wounding 171.
Protecting American interests, indeed…
Whenever I bring up the question of Americas financial aid to Israel, inevitably someone will always try to squash any discussion by concocting “American interests” that are supposedly being protected by Israel. History however seems to paint a quite different story.
It seems that our trusted ally has a strange record of attacking its best friend whenever that friend stands in the way. According to this CNN article, in 1967 Israel deliberately bombed USS Liberty, murdering 34 american sailors and wounding 171.
Protecting American interests, indeed…
At a certain point during the six day war, the one that the Israeli revisionist historians claim was just another case of Israel defending itself when the very reason Israel won so quickly because it surprised the Egyptians with a sneak pre-emptive first attack, the top echelons of Israeli government didn’t want the Americans around and tracking the slaughter of a thousand egyptian POWs. Such war crimes have a nasty habit of scoring countries negative PR points, and the Israelis felt they couldn’t afford such negative publicity.
After scouting out the American ship for several hours, the Israeli Air Force launched a surprise attack on the USS Liberty. Instead of unleashing the fury of American power upon the aggressor, the now infamous Robert McNamara called off fighter jets and ordered a coverup of the incident.
Truth has a strange way of leaking out however. The Israelis apparently didn’t know that there was an American National Security surveillance plane flying overhead, at least not until after they commenced the attack. And the attack failed — although they inflicted tremendous damage on both the crew and the ship, the ship failed to sink.
Read the linked article yourself.
You raise an important question about America’s support of Israel, which certainly is puzzling to some. While Sharon’s government has been more hawkish, and more ready to employ the IDF to quash terrorism, it is still important to remember that — in many ways — Israel is still the best reflection of American-style democracy in the Middle East. This, combined with their army, makes them an important ally. Some would argue that a theocracy can never truly be a democracy, and I would have to agree with this. But the truth is, Israel’s Arab citizens and even the Palestinians within its borders enjoy better rights and more financial aid than they ever did when they were living in Jordon, Lebanon, Syria, or other Middle Eastern countries. People seem to ignore many repressive Islamic states throughout the Middle East and focus their criticism on Israel, which — uniquely in its region — has freedom of religion, freedom of speech, and freedom of the press.
I also wanted to take issue with something you wrote: "At a certain point during the six day war, the one that the Israeli revisionist historians claim was just another case of Israel defending itself when the very reason Israel won so quickly because it surprised the Egyptians with a sneak pre-emptive first attack…" This statement is a bit one-sided. Did Israel attack first? Yes. But this attack — in June 1967 — was a response to growing signs of military aggression toward Israel that was building throughout the month of May. President Nasser had announced renewed blockade of Tiran Straits; internationally recognized as an act of war (May 23rd). Then, King Hussein signed a five-year mutual defense pact with Egypt. At that point, Israel was surrounded by a hostile Arab alliance. President Nasser declared, "The armies of Egypt, Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon are poised on the borders of Israel." So did Israel attack first? You could say so. But it wasn’t in response to a peaceful situation. All you need to do is look at a map to see that Israel is a tiny, tiny nation, surrounded (mostly) by hostile enemy. The attack may have been ‘pre-emptive,’ but it was an effort to protect Israel’s sovereignty.
Whoa. Sorry. I had no intention of leaving such an obnoxiously long comment. But now that I’ve written it, I might as well post it.
I really like your blog. Honestly. I support almost everything you write about. I read Common Dreams, Alternet, Tom Paine, Utne Reader, and Mother Jones. I hate Bush with a passion, no matter what he thinks about Israel. I’m a liberal, I swear. I just think that the Israel issue is a very difficult one, and that it’s not as clearcut and one-sided as some people like to say it is. The news we get from there is so convaluded and ‘spun’ that it’s hard (sometimes impossible) to know what’s what. I’m actually headed over there in a couple days, to try to see what’s what for myself.