1) The issue of Spies: On the one hand, you have America's strongest ally, Israel! Right? With a slight problem, there are over 30 Israeli-American spies in U.S. jails, that penetrated U.S. intelligence deeply and 'shared' the most sensitive U.S. secrets with Israel, and now [just when you thought it was over] there is a 31st spy...Paula Broadwell (nee Kurtz) ...who shacked up with a 4 star general, head of the CIA! (Yes, they found a mountain of evidence, and the investigation is ongoing...even if its not reported in the press).
On the other hand, we have Iran...America's staunchest enemy...with maybe one half-witted, psychotic Iranian-American 'terrorist' (not even a spy) in jail with dubious connections to Iran (at best) who was planning to kill an Arab diplomat in the U.S....not even kill Americans!! Even after the cold war Russia maintained major spy networks in America ...and so far there is NOTHING from America's number one enemy!?
2) The issue of resources: On the one hand, you have a nation sitting on a pile of semi-arable land, with no real natural resources to speak of, that has to import basically everything to survive. Yes, Israel.
On the other hand, you have a country with the world's second largest reserves of natural gas, second largest exporter of oil (till very recently), packed with Copper, Uranium, Zinc ...you name it.
3) The issue of regional influence: On the one hand you have a country at war in perpetuity with its neighbors. Yes, Israel - that can't get along or compromise with anyone in its neighborhood. Basically, its the neighborhood asshole (every community has one).
And on the other hand, you have Iran, that by the way, is surrounded by countries that share its heritage and actually look up to Iranian culture and influence. The Persian language is lingua franca for over 150 million central asians (Iran, Afghanistan, and Tajikestan); and Persian influence can be found with over 300 million central asians that celebrate major events like No-ruz, share a cuisine, share a passion for Iranian Poets. Oh and its been like this for over 2000 years. Do you really think you can change that in a decade or so? Or should you leverage it?
4) The issue of population: On the one hand you have 7 million half citizens, yes Israelis. The majority of them have dual citizenship and actually nominally live in Israel. There are at least 4 million Israeli-Americans, with questionable loyalty to America. They live in Jewish enclaves, speak yiddish or hebrew (not even English) while they live in the U.S.
On the other hand, you have 70+ million Iranians, and perhaps 5 more million in the diaspora spread throughout the world, with about 500,000 in the U.S. Iranian-Americans seem to blend in, and try (yes try) to blend in with names like Sam, Mo, Fred... Iran has a large population, and a big military, Iran could have (and would have) fought America's regional wars and saved the U.S. tax payer trillions of dollars. In fact, Iran did fight the war against Afghanistan (provided significant covert assistance) to what was then the most successful military campaign U.S. had. And fought successfully against Saddam Hussein - even though the U.S. was selling arms to both sides!
5) On the issue of undue influence: When an American President wants to nominate a secretary of defense, he basically has to get Israel's approval on whom he choses. If a senator or representative wants to get elected, he can not utter a word of anti-Israeli views, because AIPAC will come into his district and simply outspend him, until he is defeated. Israel basically wags the dog! 300 Million Americans have to sit subserviant to their Israeli masters. This isn't an alliance, its servitude.
On the other hand, American Presidents, Senators and Representatives can bash Iran at will, and gain even more votes! How about that for a friend!!
6) On the issue of welfare allies: Israel is not only an ally, but has her hand out for money all the time. Besides the $5 Billion in direct assistance, Israel benefits from indirect military and intelligence programs that are not even directly accounted for. And Israeli Officials can threaten other nations, and ratchet up the global price of oil and gas, costing U.S. hundreds of millions of extra dollars to import energy DAILY (i.e. tens of billions more annually).
On the other hand, Iran has not gotten a penny from the U.S. ever, in fact American oil companies pillaged Iran for over 25 years.
7) On the issue of Nuclear Arms: Israel has had a covert Nuclear program for decades, and been in violation of every single U.N. resolution related to Nuclear arms. It proliferated by supplying material and technology to South Africa during the Apartheid era. It has NEVER had an IAEA inspection.
On the other hand, Iran has had regular - if controversial - inspections. And essentially been in compliance with its international obligations.
So in summary, Israel appears to be a rogue state, and a dubious ally that is only a liability to the U.S. - in every way. On the other hand, if (big if) the U.S. can shift back to its original policy (30 years ago) and establish Iran as a a strong, transparent, fully committed (democratic) ally - it will have a strong, regional partner that will be of much greater value to the U.S. than its so called #1 ally (Israel).
With friends like Israel, who needs enemies? Like they say, you make your bed and then have to sleep in it. Come-on Obama - wake up and smell the roses. Free up Iranians so they can become America's #1 ally in the region. (I know Saudi's and Israeli's would hate it, but if you really want to shack up with a 90 year old defunct, faggot Prince in Saudi Arabi or a friend like Israel ...don't scream too loud when you go bankrupt fighting their wars...and they stick it up your ass [as they have numerous times since WW2].
PS: Most Israelis (including Israeli-Americans) think most Americans are idiots (hicks). (Americans should hear what they say about them). Iranians across the board (not its moronic government) on the other hand have deep respect for America and Americans.
PPS: I am reposting this...somehow, this blog disappeared on IC?? Can't imagine why?
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akaDarya – With life as short as a half-taken breath, don't plant anything but love. - Rumi
ReportIt is an ambassador's job to burnish his government's image; fidelity to the usual canons of logic and evidence are neither required nor expected. It is therefore unsurprising that Michael Oren's portrait of Israel as America's "ultimate ally" is a one-sided distortion of reality.
Oren repeats, for example, the familiar claim that the United States and Israel share identical democratic "values." But there are fundamental differences between these countries' systems of government. The United States is a liberal democracy, where people of any race, religion, or ethnicity are supposed to enjoy equal rights. Israel, by contrast, was explicitly founded as a Jewish state, and non-Jews in Israel are second-class citizens. Just as importantly, Israel's democratic status is undermined by its occupation of territories that denies the Palestinians their basic human rights, as well as by its effort to colonize these lands with Jewish settlers.
Oren also suggests that unconditional support for Israel makes Americans safer at home. But that is not true. Israel's invasion of Lebanon in 1982 made the region less stable and led directly to the creation of Hezbollah, the Lebanese Shiite militia. Israel's assault on Lebanon and its occupation of Palestinian territories (which led directly to the first and second intifadas and the brutal 2008-2009 war on Gaza) have created enormous popular blowback in the region. None of these events was in America's strategic interest, and they belie the claim that Israel is somehow spreading "stability."
Israel's limited strategic value is further underscored by its inability to contribute to a more crucial U.S. interest: access to oil in the Persian Gulf. Israel could not help preserve American access to oil after the Shah of Iran fell in 1979, so the United States had to create its own Rapid Deployment Force, which could not operate out of Israel. When the U.S. Navy was busy escorting oil tankers during the Iran-Iraq War, Israel did nothing to help, and it remained on the sidelines in both the 1991 Gulf War and the 2003 Iraq war.
Oren also ignores or denies the special relationship's obvious costs. He is silent about Israel's extensive efforts to spy on the United States, which the U.S. Government Accountability Office has described as "the most aggressive espionage operation against the United States of any U.S. ally." Oren also maintains that the special relationship between the United States and Israel has nothing to do with anti-Americanism in the Arab world, though there is an abundant supply of evidence to the contrary. And he says nothing about Israel's arms sales to Iran in the 1980s, its transfer of sensitive U.S. defense technology to potential adversaries such as China, or its refusal to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
The bottom line is that the special relationship with Israel makes it much more difficult to achieve America's main strategic aims in the Middle East. There is little question that a just peace would make it much easier for Washington to pursue its other interests in the region.
Stephen M. Walt
Professor of International Relations
Harvard University
Cambridge, Mass.