U.S.-Israel Relations: Downturn or Upturn?

On November 2, 2015, Lt. General (ret.) James Clapper, director of the U.S. National Intelligence and former director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, stated: “The relations with Israel’s intelligence community is closer and stronger than I can recall [in 30 years] …. At the intelligence level, there has not been much air space between the U.S. and Israel [irrespective of the disagreement on Iran].”

Contrary to the “elite” U.S. media headlines, the November 9, 2015 Obama-Netanyahu summit highlighted the enhanced U.S.-Israel relationship, in general, and the long-term U.S.-Israel strategic cooperation, in particular, irrespective of the irreconcilable nature of the personalities and worldviews of the two leaders. In fact, bilateral defense, commercial, scientific and technological cooperation has surged to new heights, transcending disagreements over the Arab-Israeli conflict, Israel’s borders, construction of Jewish homes in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, the appointment of controversial officials by both administrations and the Palestinian issue. In fact, such disagreements have been an integral part of the bilateral relationship since Israel’s establishment in 1948.

Contrasting the “elite” U.S. media, the Obama-Netanyahu summit reaffirmed the order of the U.S. national priorities, which — notwithstanding the multitude of White House and Department of State verbal statements — does not consider the Palestinian issue a lead player in the context of U.S.-Israel relations, Middle East affairs, inter-Arab politics or the Arab-Israeli conflict.

The U.S. Administration does not subordinate primary national and homeland security interests — in face of rising regional and global threats — to disagreement over secondary concerns, such as the Palestinian issue and Jewish construction in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria. Moreover, President Obama does not allow the short-term friction over the deal with the Ayatollahs to cloud the long-term, joint U.S.-Israel stance against the surging anti-U.S. Islamic terrorism, the anti-U.S. Arab tsunami, the tectonic eruptions in Iraq and Syria, and the resulting clear and present danger to critical U.S. interests and the pro-U.S. Arab regimes of Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman and the United Arab Emirates.

As conflicting as are the worldviews and personalities of Obama and Netanyahu, the U.S. will not cut off its nose to spite its face. Thus, Obama does not ignore Israel’s enhanced role as America’s most effective, reliable, democratic and unconditional strategic ally and beachhead in a most critical region, against the backdrop of an increasingly violent, unpredictable, unstable, fragmented, unreliable, intolerant, tenuous and anti-U.S. Arab Street. Israel — the battle-tested, cost-effective laboratory of the U.S. defense industry — extends the strategic hand of the U.S., enhancing the U.S. power projection, at a time of unprecedented threats to the U.S. national and homeland security.

Furthermore, approaching the 2016 election, President Obama is cognizant of the deeply-rooted affinity toward the Jewish State, expressed by the American people, and therefore by their representatives on Capitol Hill. According to a November 9, 2015 study by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, “Favorable feelings toward Israel have increased among supporters from both parties in recent years. Republicans’ favorable views of Israel have increased 12% (to 65%) since a low point in 1998, and a 57% majority of Democrats also continue to feel favorably toward Israel, up from a low point of 50% in 2002. Gallup surveys concluded in 2014 and 2015 corroborate these trends: seven in 10 Americans expressed favorable views of Israel, suggesting that events over the last year [disagreement over the deal with the Ayatollahs] did not affect American support for Israel. … Americans say that among all regions of the world, the Middle East is the most important for U.S. national security. …”

The gathering storms in the Middle East and beyond, the erosion of Europe’s posture of deterrence, the intensely anti-U.S. Arab Street, and Israel’s growing contribution to the national security of the U.S., suggest that if there were not a Jewish State in the Middle East, the U.S. would have to dramatically expand its military presence in the region. Moreover, if the Jewish State were located in the Persian Gulf, the U.S. would be able to dramatically shrink its military presence there. Israel has been transformed from a national security consumer to a national security producer, and U.S.-Israel relations have evolved from a one-way street to two way, mutually beneficial ties. (Israel Hayom)

To Read The Full Story

Are you already a subscriber?
Click to log in!