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In 1948, US-Israel relations were a classic case of a one-way-street: the US gave and Israel received, economically and militarily.
In 1952, the US Administration rejected a proposal by General Omar Bradley, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs-of-Staff, to elevate Israel to a role of a major ally, just like Iran and Turkey.
In 2013, notwithstanding President Rouhani’s rhetoric, Iran is the fiercest enemy of the US. Erdogan’s Turkey follows a Muslim Brotherhood, rather than a NATO-oriented policy. Egypt is increasingly unstable, unpredictable and anti-US country. And, the long-term stability, reliability and capabilities of Saudi Arabia – as an ally of the US – have been severely eroded by the ongoing Arab Tsunami.
In 2013, the combusting Arab Street highlights Israel as the only stable, reliable, predictable, capable, democratic and unconditional Middle Eastern ally of the US.
In 2013, Israel is the only ally of the US, which is able and willing to extend the shortened strategic hand of the US, while the threats to the US are mounting and Russian and Chinese penetration of the Middle East is intensifying.
In 2013, US-Israel relations constitute a classic case of a two-way-street, win-win, mutually- beneficial ties, with Israel increasingly contributing to vital US economic and defense interests; expanding US employment, research & development and export base; serving as the most battle-tested laboratory of US defense industries; enhancing US countering-terrorism and intelligence gathering capabilities; and upgrading US battle tactic and homeland security.
For example, some 300 US high tech giants operate in Israel – a pipeline of commercial, defense and homeland security technologies to the US – leveraging Israel’s brain power and enhancing their global competitiveness. Fifty five percent of Hewlett Packard’s recent software developments originated in its seven R & D centers in Israel. In August, 2013, IBM acquired its 13th Israeli company and its R&D centers in Israel registered 463 patents during 2006-2010, followed by SandDisk – 394, Intel – 321, Microsoft, HP, Apple, GE, etc.. Most of Intel’s laptop microprocessors, and many of Google’s applications, originated in Israel. Marvell’s largest design center outside the US is in Israel.
Israel serves as the most battle-tested laboratory for the US defense industry, employing hundreds of US military systems (e.g., F-16, F-15) sharing with US manufacturers lessons learned during battle, facilitating thousands of modifications and upgrades, thus dramatically enhancing the US global competitive edge, expanding US R&D, employment and exports, yielding a mega-billion dollar bonanza to the US defense industry, while advancing the national security of Israel and the US.
Israel’s battle tactics against Palestinian terrorism are at the core of counter-terrorism training at Ft. Leavenworth, the intellectual center of the US Army. US Marines and Special Operations units are trained in Israel on their way to Afghanistan. They benefit from Israel’s unique experience in urban warfare and in tackling suicide bombers, car bombs and Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs). US bomb squads travel to Israel, improving their explosives neutralizing capabilities. The US and Israeli air forces hold annual joint exercises, aimed at enhancing cooperation and leveraging Israel’s intense battle experience. After the 1967 War, the US sent 15 senior military personnel to study Israeli lessons from the war and to implement them in the US military. After the 1973 War, the US sent 50 top commanders, who produced five volumes of lessons which were implemented by the US military.
Israel has been a strategic beachhead of the US as demonstrated by the 1967 War, which intercepted Egypt’s attempt to topple the House of Saud. In 1970, Israel mobilized its regulars and reservists, which forced pro-Soviet Syria to roll back its invasion of pro-US Jordan without firing a single shot. In 1981, Israel pre-empted and devastated Iraq’s nuclear reactor, thus eliminating a clear and present lethal threat to Jordan, Saudi Arabia and other pro-American Arab regimes. In September, 2007, Israel destroyed Syria’s nuclear reactor, sparing the Free World a much more dangerous civil war in Syria. In 2012-13 Israel bombed advanced military systems in Syria, thus preventing their use by Assad, Hizballah, the Muslim Brotherhood or Al Qaeda.
The scope of military intelligence transferred by Israel to the US exceeds that which is transferred by all NATO countries combined. Israeli intelligence, shared with the US, plays a key role in US counter-terrorism efforts in general, and the campaign against Iran’s nuclearization, in particular.
According to the late General Alexander Haig, who was Supreme Commander of NATO and US Secretary of State: “Israel is the largest American aircraft carrier, which does not require a single US aircraft or boot on board; cannot be sunk; and is deployed in a vital area for critical US commercial and military interests. If there were not a Jewish state in the eastern flank of the Mediterranean, then the US would have to deploy additional aircraft carriers and tens of thousands of US soldiers to the Mediterranean. It would have cost the American taxpayers some $15BN annually, which is spared by a viable Jewish state.”