Allies and Interests

In a post entitled "Muslim Love" Raving Conservative writes

Given this state of lethal enmity toward Isreal, in my opinion America's best ally in the world, why does our government give in to terrorist demands for Israel to withdraw from its lawful territories? It makes no sense to me that we are fighting a "War on Terror" and yet demand that one of our allies in this war capitulate to the demands of terrorists, our enemies.

Some thoughts...

[Warning: Rambling Thoughts Ahead]

The answer to the conundrum is that the reason the US's treatment of Israel makes no sense is because we are stuck on the word 'ally'. He's right, it makes no sense to treat an ally that way. But who, other than the politicians, says that the US and Israel are allies?

What makes Israel ally itself with the US is obvious. The US is friendly to Israel--where friendly is defined as anyone who does not openly call for the destruction of Israel. A short list. More importantly, the US is powerful in terms of arms, money, and influence. And those are the very things that Israel needs. Also, there are shared values and sense of morality.

What makes the US ally itself with Israel? We talk about Israel being the only democracy in the Middle East. We also talk about the intelligence that Israel is able to offer the US. The latter is important to the US. Israel offers the US a foothold in the Middle East, an area important because of oil and because of the volatility of the area which is a threat to that oil.

But if Israel were located where Liechtenstein is, would the US be paying as much attention to it?

It's nice that Israel is a democracy, but how much does that matter to the US? If Israel was a dictatorship but still offered the US the same foothold in the area, the same intelligence--the whole package, would it make a difference to the US?

The US does not see Israel as an equal. The demands it places on Israel in terms of its relationship with China, for example, it would never dream of doing with a country like Great Britain. Israel needs the US and is reliant upon her in a way that the US does not need Israel.
And for filling those needs, the US has certain expectations--if not requirements.

The US fills Israel's needs because of what Israel can provide for her in the Middle East. Israel is not so much an ally of the US--it is an interest. The US, like many major powers, believes it has an interest--a right, a claim...an investment in what goes on in the Middle East. Since Israel is the most reliable way the US has to access and use its influence in the area, Israel--by extension--is an interest of the US. An investment. But not really an ally.

When you have an investment, you can buy more shares.
But you can also cash in.
Or you can just reduce your holdings, your exposure to risk.

So when the Quartet puts pressure on the US to put pressure on Israel to follow the roadmap and make concessions, the US will apply pressure within an acceptable threshold.

When Sharon pushes through a disengagement plan with at best uncertain consequences, the US will make an accounting of the risk/return tradeoff, and believing that Israel--though weakened--can do it and thereby strengthen Abbas, will support the move if not nudge it along.

At this point in time, the US is unlikely to completely abandon Israel--regardless of what the White House or the State Department might be inclined to do. For now the Congress is fairly reliable. The Congress is more of an ally in that in the absence of anything that goes truly contrary to the best interests of the US, it will tend to put values above pure politics.

But bottom line, Israel is an interest, an investment. So the US is willing to put up with the difficulties and pressures that come with being an 'ally' of Israel.

But when it should happen that Iraq becomes stable and a friend of the US, allowing it a foothold without the problems that come with being an ally of Israel, what will the US do with its investment then?

Will the US cash in?

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