Why do we need Israel?

[Sava]

This is completley unrealted but your avatar's hot, who's the girl?

i dunno
something random i saw

i like female asses

[Heraclitus]

i dunno
something random i saw

i like female asses

Female asses saving manking from extinction since 75000BC

[KrazyHorse]

It has similar minded people and culture. It gives you various scientific benefits in fields raging from defense issues to high-tech science.

Look, we know that you guys think you're badasses because you're more advanced than the local hillbillies, but Israel is NOT an important source of science and technology. Certainly not important enough for the US to give a **** about losing it.

[Imran Siddiqui]

ovens

[Drake Tungsten]

America gains very little from having Israel as an ally. Of course, America gains very little from the NATO alliance, as well. Very few of America's allies are actually worth much.

[chequita guevara]

America gains very little from having Israel as an ally. Of course, America gains very little from the NATO alliance, as well. Very few of America's allies are actually worth much.

Drake is rather incorrect here. He's only looking at things from a direct benefit point of view. In the case of NATO, the United States benefits very much from handling Europe's defense, as it means Europe won't become a military rival to the United States, even though it is not only more than capable, if it wanted to, it could build a bigger and more technologically superior military.

In the case of Israel, the U.S. benefits from Israel's ability to keep the Arab nations divided. If the if the oil producing Arab countries had united, as they were attempting to do, it would have given them much greater control over their oil. Instead of a dozen countries competing with each other, you'd have one. In addition, Israel can law down the smack down when the Empire needs it done without getting its hands dirty directly.

[Colon™]

Israel is actually one of the few unifying factors in the Arab world. Condemning the Zionists is maybe the only thing the Arab League handles in an effective manner.

[Drake Tungsten]

as it means Europe won't become a military rival to the United States, even though it is not only more than capable, if it wanted to, it could build a bigger and more technologically superior military.

The Euros are far more likely to engage in another arms race and destroy themselves in another great war before they ever unite to build a military that could threaten the U.S.

[chequita guevara]

Israel is actually one of the few unifying factors in the Arab world. Condemning the Zionists is maybe the only thing the Arab League handles in an effective manner.

They are unified against Israel. They are not unifying with each other. Israel's regular trouncing of them helped cause the United Arab Republic to fall apart, for example.

[Colon™]

They are unified against Israel. They are not unifying with each other. Israel's regular trouncing of them helped cause the United Arab Republic to fall apart, for example.

Funny, US-Israel relations weren't nearly as close at the time as they are now.

[Sirotnikov]

It has similar minded people and culture. It gives you various scientific benefits in fields raging from defense issues to high-tech science.

Look, we know that you guys think you're badasses because you're more advanced than the local hillbillies, but Israel is NOT an important source of science and technology. Certainly not important enough for the US to give a **** about losing it.

Commercially it is an important source of science and technology. It has the 2nd highest concentration of technology firms outside sillicon valley. You're welcome to read where Intel designs its chips, and where microsoft started making its security products.

Defense technology wise, its the 5th exporter of defense tech, and could be higher if not for political reasons.

America gains very little from having Israel as an ally. Of course, America gains very little from the NATO alliance, as well. Very few of America's allies are actually worth much.

I agree you gain little from NATO.

Honestly, I think I would rank your alliances worth in the following fashion

1) Canada, UK, Australia (UKUSA?)
2) South Korea, Japan,
3) Israel, ...Germany?
4) SA, Qatar

i'm not fully aware of the entire list, so it might change.

[chequita guevara]

Funny, US-Israel relations weren't nearly as close at the time as they are now.

And your point is? You think countries can't have mutually beneficial relationships unless they are bosom buddies? Israel needed a patron, the U.S. needed someone to keep the Arabs in order.

[Zevico]

Firstly, support for Israel does not 'piss off' the Arab world quite in the simplistic manner you suggest. Israel is an excuse, a diversion used for propaganda purposes--as is the corruption, decadence and evil of the United States, Europe, and everywhere other than the other country in question. The Arab fixation on those terrible Jews is quite replaceable with a fixation on any other given culture and ethnicity with enough propaganda, which, after all, is how they got their people to hate Jews in the first place. And hey--guess what--they've shored their bets and already picked out the US as the "Great Satan", the Europeans as evil--which would you want more attention for next?

The resolution of this ideological struggle can only be resolved by the replacement of the Arab regimes with pro-American, preferable democratic ones, where the myths that create hatred for Israel and the US will be seen as such. But that's unlikely to happen in the foreseeable future.

Secondly, Che is, once again, off in his own bizarre world, blubbering on about some Arab unity prevented by the Israelis. Arab unity is and always was a myth. Not coincidentally, its benefits and drawbacks are purely speculative. But don't worry Che--maybe some day you, Han and Chewbacca can rise up and a strike a blow for the rebellion against 'the Empire.'

So those are some of the reasons the US in abandoning its alliance with Israel. As to the others, I'd need to think more before answering.

[chequita guevara]

You might need to think period.

[Kuciwalker]

The resolution of this ideological struggle can only be resolved by the replacement of the Arab regimes with pro-American, preferable democratic ones

These are diametrically opposed goals.