I never understood the alliance between Israel and especially the United States. They get every weapon they ask for from the U.S. Government, even the most powerfull ones. The ones they want to use against Iran are bunkerbusters, highly developed weapons that not many countries have. The strange thing is, Israel gets them all for free???!!!!! that's insane. If u do not want to start a war against your neighbouring countries, then don't provocate them by supplying yourself with the most advanced and deadliest weapons. Of course the other countries like Iran will feel threatened and want the defend themselves with similar weapons.
But it goes further. Countries like Jordan, Saoudi Arabia, Egypt, Libanon also get free weapons from the U.S.: a yearly amount of bombs, tanks and weapons worth several billions of dollars. Except they do not get the most advanced bombs.
Yea Great going U.S. If you want to keep peace in the middle east supply every single country there with free weapons and bombs and u can be sure it will be a save place
And Why? Just to sustain your own weapon industry.
Usual disclaimers: all opinions my own, void where prohibited, etc.
Bit simplistic, but not exactly wrong imo.
The reason Israel gets so much "free" help is because there are a lot of Jewish Senators in the American congress, who collectively wield a lot of political power. That's why the US so rarely chastises Israel. Its the same with the Irish (or Irish descended) Senators in the US senate, who are another powerful group. That's why they continually block the extradition of IRA terrorists to the UK. It's called "looking after your own".
The other reason for such large US support for Israel is due to official US foreign policy, which is (supposedly) "pro democracy". For all its faults, Israel is one of the few (the only?) true democratic states in the "middle east". Whatever its faults, Israel at least allows its citizens to vote for their leaders and vote them back out again. Now look at its immediate neighbours and their systems of government:-
Saudi Arabia - absolute rule by a royal family. i.e. Monarchy. i.e. no political power held by ordinary people at all.
Iran - hardline theocracy (i.e. ruled by a religious group (the mullahs)). No political power held by ordinary people.
UAE (United Arab Emirates) - absolute rule monarchy again. No political power to ordinary people.
Iraq - chaos. Don't need to say more.
Syria, Jordan, Egypt, Oman, etc etc all have absolute forms of (non-democratic) government of one kind or another.
Funny how "liberal" "westerners" seem to shout down the ideal of rule by monarchy or the church at home, yet tolerate it in the middle east?
Israel's "first strike" plan is perhaps understandable given that one of the main regional powers (Iran) is ruled by a hardliner who has publicly vowed to "wipe Israel from the map" by "any means necessary".
Frankly, with a neighbour like that, I'd have a contingency plan for a first strike too. No point having the moral high ground if you're dead. Also, the Israeli "first strike" plan is against a nuclear facility (come on, do you really think Iran isn't going hell for leather to get nuclear weapons) in hardened desert facility, and not a "carpet bombing" plan for civilian areas.
Note - I'm not trying to exonerate Israel's own atrocities here - I'm just trying to place them in context of the broader middle eastern picture.
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