[Stinkum]

Originally Posted by Daldolma [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Stable Syria doesn't facilitate anything for us. They're a minor economy that we barely interact with. Cuba has a higher GDP.

And Israel is overtly our door into the Middle East. It's not a past tense thing, and the Middle East is going to be significantly more vital over the next 20 years than it was for the past 20 years. Keeping the oil flowing is of utmost importance to our economy and by extension our military.

– the US has no bases or troop presence in Israel and stores only minimal military supplies in the country (and these under terms that allow these supplies to be used essentially at will by the IDF).

– Israeli bases are not available for US use.

– none of Israel’s neighbors will facilitate overflight for military aircraft transiting Israeli territory, let alone taking off from there. Israel is useless for purposes of strategic logistics or power projection.

– Israel is worse than irrelevant to the defense of Middle Eastern energy supplies; the US relationship with Israel has jeopardized these supplies (as in 1973), not contributed to securing them.

– US relations with Israel do not bolster US prestige in Middle Eastern oil-producing countries or assist the US to "dominate" them, they complicate and weaken US influence; they have at times resulted in the suspension of US relations with such countries.

– Israel does not have the diplomatic prestige or capacity to marshal support for US interests or policies globally or in its own region and does not do so; on the contrary, it requires constant American defense against political condemnation and sanctions by the international community.

– Israel does not fund aid programs in third countries to complement and support US foreign or military policy as other allies and strategic partners do.