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Is Israel Becoming a Strategic Liability for the United States?

January 28, 2015

The U.S. relationship with Israel has long been a challenge in the context of wider U.S. foreign policy. It has often touched on national security issues, for instance when the government of Israel and its U.S. supporters (most notably the American Israel Public Affairs Committee [AIPAC]) opposed arms sales to Arab nations. Sometimes their lobbying failed, as in the case of the sale of AWACS to Saudi Arabia, but sometimes it succeeded. Israel and its lobbyists were able to block the sale of F-15s to Saudi Arabia and F-16s to Jordan later in the decade. Important and annoying as such efforts were, they did not threaten vital U.S. national security interests.

The unprecedented invitation by Speaker of the House John Boehner to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to address a joint session of Congress on the issue of Iranian nuclear negotiations demonstrates a new level of chutzpa. This intervention into U.S. politics is a different order of magnitude, coming on the heels of aggressive Israeli and AIPAC lobbying of Congress to enact new sanctions against Iran. These developments raise the question as to whether Israel is becoming a strategic liability for America.

Conventional wisdom holds that Israel is a strategically vital asset based on its being the only democracy in the area and one that provides crucial support to the United States against terrorism and other threats. It even serves, we are told, as a useful base for prepositioned U.S. war supplies. Both parts of the conventional wisdom are questionable. Turkey is a functional democracy despite the erosion of Turkey’s democratic institutions in recent years. There are also military stockpiles in Kuwait and the U.S. Fifth Fleet is headquartered in Manama, Bahrain.

Further, Israeli democracy is by no means secure. Demographic trends will inexorably dictate that Israel will have to choose between a two-state solution with a majority Jewish state and a Palestinian one, or a single state solution with a majority Palestinian population ruled by a Jewish minority. All indications are that the Netanyahu government, if it survives the March elections, will continue to move toward a one-state solution. Settlements continue to be built in East Jerusalem and West Bank territories that would be part of any viable Palestinian State, people on both sides have declared the Oslo peace process dead, and laws are proposed establishing Israel as an exclusivist Jewish state. Attempts by Palestine to take non-violent protective steps such as joining the International Criminal Court (ICC) on their own behalf are met with financial threats from Israel and the United States.

These and other Israeli actions, such as the last operation in Gaza, are problematic for the United States not only in dealing with the Arab and Muslim worlds but also with our European allies. Those allies are so fed up with Israel’s Palestinian policy that they have drawn up possible economic sanctions. But, until the Iranian nuclear negotiations debate, previous activities by Israel and AIPAC pushed, but rarely crossed the line into threatening U.S. national security.

Those negotiations are at a delicate stage and there are hardliners In Iran and the United States that would like to scuttle them. Iran and the P5+1 negotiation partners have all said that the passage of additional sanctions, even conditional ones, would violate the current agreement and might collapse the talks. President Obama has promised to veto any new sanctions legislation but the legislation itself could give Iranian hard liners an excuse to end the talks.

Enter the Netanyahu bull in the china shop. Through the Israeli ambassador in Washington, Ron Dermer, a former GOP operative, he has engineered an invitation from House Speaker John Boehner to address a Joint Session of Congress on the nuclear negotiations with Iran without even informing the White House. This is a massive breach of diplomatic protocol. Netanyahu has inserted Israel into the U.S. partisan political process in a way that could upset long-standing bipartisan support for Israel. He also inserted the United States into Israeli politics by procuring a Congressional platform for his domestic campaign.

In December Senator Lindsey Graham (R) of South Carolina held a press conference in Israel and pledged to the Prime Minister that Congress would “follow your lead” on the Iran negotiations. This is the same senator who threatened Palestinian aid if they joined the ICC. Is it any wonder that many believe that Netanyahu has been given a veto over the final Iran agreement?

Why does this intrusion threaten U.S. security? First, if Congress is seen as causing the talks collapse at the behest of Israel, the international sanctions regime will collapse. The Europeans, as well as Russia and China, will begin to expand economic ties with Iran. Such a coalition breakdown could have adverse blowback on EU and NATO sanctions against Russia. Second, the enhanced inspection of Iranian nuclear facilities will be imperiled. In an atmosphere where we know less of what is happening in Iran, worst case scenarios will prevail. And then many in Congress and Israel will call for military action.

Military action may someday be needed but there is no harm in continuing to negotiate under the current transparent arrangements. And if we are to put American lives at risk again, that decision should be made in the U.S.A. based on U.S. security interests and those of our negotiating partners and allies, including Israel, not by senators pledging fealty to Israel’s prime minister.

Israel and AIPAC have long been pushing the bounds of a relationship that is, not that you would know it, between a patron and a supplicant. U.S. policy is for a two-state solution and the end of settlements. Yet, despite $3 billion in annual aid, Israel scoffs at U.S. appeals. It is time to rebalance this relationship before Israel does real harm to U.S. national security and its own. Specifically, the United States should:

  • Inform Israel that a one-state solution, de facto or de jure, will result in the end of U.S. financial aid.
  • Support Palestinian membership in the ICC and other UN agencies but hold in abeyance full UN membership.
  • Tell Prime Minister Netanyahu to cancel his trip and cease interfering in American politics and national security and using the U.S. Congress as a platform for his own campaign.

Is this throwing Israel under a bus? No. It is preventing Israel from driving a bus over a cliff with many vital U.S. and Israeli interests on board.

 

Richard L. (Dick) Klass is a retired USAF colonel.  He is a distinguished graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy class of 1962 and the National War College Class of 1977.  He holds two graduate degrees from Oxford University which he attended as a Rhodes Scholar.  He served as a White House Fellow in the Nixon Administration and in the Pentagon in the Carter Administration.  He is a veteran of over 200 combat missions as a Forward Air Controller in Vietnam. His decorations include the Silver Star, Distinguished Flying Cross, Legion of Merit and Purple Heart.

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36 thoughts on “Is Israel Becoming a Strategic Liability for the United States?”

  1. The question isn’t is Israel becoming a drag – the question is when hasn’t it been? And the answer to that is – never.
    But supporting Israel is and will remain the right thing to do. We don’t need to rubber stamp everything they say but any move away from Israel is a move away from good towards evil. Unless and until the Palestinians are willing to acknowledge that Israel and the Jewish people have a right to exist and to live their lives there is no other alternative. You cannot make peace with someone who doesn’t believe you have a right to live and any attempt to do so is at best a waste of time.

    1. “any move away from Israel is a move away from good towards evil.”

      Unless moving away from Israel is a move away from evil. Based on Israel’s actions and policies, that seems to be pretty accurate. . .

    3. Most Arabs around Israel aren’t calling for their right to return anymore. You see a reluctance to force a military conclusion. So your point saying that the Arabs needing to acknowledge Israel’s right to exist is largely a moot point.

      Furthermore, the point of the article seemed focused on a major breach of international protocol by the Republican Party, and the strategic implications we could face should Senators like Graham get there way. It would be a geo-political disaster. The Speaker of the House needs to realize, he’s the speaker, he’s not the President of the United States for all the good conservatives to follow. I don’t think they’ve considered how damaging that move could be, but it’s Kohn Boehner, if it furthers his career, he’d sell half the country to Lucifer.

    4. Kieth, what you have said about the palestinians is ludicris, for what reason would the paleistinians have to believe that the jewish people have the right to commit war crimes against them amd take not just some but all of thier land? its not that they dont believe that the jewish people have a right to live, they are simply fed up with the exteremist methods of the jewish state that presents itself as a racist and cruel oppressor. How would you feel if the jewish people were given your home state and they used the tactics they are to drive you and everyone you know from your home? probably wouldnt be all that pleased with the israelies either

      1. Israel and the Jewish people have a right to live and have a right to live on that land. They also have a right to defend themselves from attack.
        You also need to recalibrate what you consider a “war crime”. The true war crimes ars what the Palestinians are doing by using schools, hospitals, and mosques as bases to store their rockets and other weapons. This leaves the Israeli’s no choice but to strike those targets. Israel would happily leave these targets alone if the Palestinians weren’t busy making them valid targets.

  2. Jewish people have a right to exist and live their lives but eliminating the indigenous population of Palestine was not part of the framework in the beginning, less than 100 years ago, as it was stated in The Balfour Declaration. The aggressive ‘landgrab’ has escalated with continuing and predictable resentment, misery, hatred. Google search term ‘balfour declaration’ follow to Wiki link, last modified on 21 January 2015, at 15:38:

    ‘The Balfour Declaration (dated 2 November 1917) was a letter from the United Kingdom’s Foreign Secretary Arthur James Balfour to Baron Rothschild (Walter Rothschild, 2nd Baron Rothschild), a leader of the British Jewish community, for transmission to the Zionist Federation of Great Britain and Ireland.
    His Majesty’s government view with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, and will use their best endeavours to facilitate the achievement of this object, it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine, or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country…’

  3. If Israel is becoming a strategic liability, then what would you consider Saudi Arabia?

    Although Netanyahu’s recent trip is in poor form, Arab leaders routinely lobby members of all parties. AIPIC compared to OPEC? How is that even a serious comparison?

    Was Obama interfering in Israeli politics when he was sending very strong signals that he would welcome a Tzipi Livini term as PM?

    Moreover, the annual stipend that the US provides Israel doesn’t give the US cart blanche on a sovereign nation. Where in this article is the Colonel’s objections to Egypt’s liability in the region? Will he mandate that they stop the draconian style campaign against the Muslim Brotherhood?

    And as we speak, 2 Israeli soldiers are killed by a missile attack along the Lebanese border.

    2. The price of gas right now is because of OPEC artificially lowering prices, not US domestic production. The difference is, that the Speaker of the House shouldn’t be inviting foerign heads of state to lobby Congress against the President. Boenher is acting like a foerign head of state, not a member of the US Congress.

      We didn’t interfere too much with Egypt because of the Suez Canal. Do you need to know why keeping the Canal open is important? And we actually canceled a lot of arms sales that were destined for Egypt. That’s why Egypt is looking at buying Russian arms again.

      Saying we don’t have the right to tell Israel what to do, is like a parent paying the cost of living for a child that’s long since moved out, yet the parent is out of line for even suggesting an alternative.

      And perhaps if Israel did violate its agreements, if it didn’t force people from their homes and shoot civilians, maybe people wouldn’t try killing their soldiers.

      Ever since I learned of the USS Liberty incident in 1967, I regard Israel as a enemy of the United States. I’m not a radical, I’m a catholic and a U.S. Army vet, and I can spot a shady character when I see one. Are you one of the lobbyist in Congress? If you aren’t, you missed your calling.

      1. Actually, I’m not a lobbyist. I’m an American soldier deployed to Afghanistan, but thanks for playing.

        Simply because the US gives Israel money, doesn’t mean they can dictate Israel’s foreign policy. Does Pakistan, Egypt, Iraq or Afghanistan simply follow the rules that we give them?

        Ah, you’re one of those people who actually think that Israel intentionally killed US servicemen w/the USS Liberty. Lovely.

        1. Actually Will,

          More Americans have died at the hands of Israel then the Palestinians. US Liberty did happen.
          You don’t attack a vessel for over 8 hours and claim it was a mistake after.

        2. Will,

          Its not about the U.S. dictating Israel’s foreign policy, we obviously can’t expect to do that…. The problem is that Israel dictates and greatly influences U.S. foreign policy by using AIPAC to make it politically unviable (at worst) and difficult (at best) for any government official to (1) disagree with or challenge Israel’s policies and (2) pursue foreign policy that is in the U.S. interest but seen contrary to Israeli interest.

  4. Israel will act to defend its perceived national interest. Despite Israel’s historically “unique” relationship with the US,the President has been good at tempering Israel’s desires in order to take real steps towards lowering tensions with Iran.

    This is unacceptable for the GOP, not because Iran poses an existential threat to the US or Israel, but because it represents a political win for the President.

    A better question: Is the GOP Congress becoming a strategic liability to the United States?

  5. It’s been argued — and I believe the argument is correct — that there are three fundamental strategic blunders to be avoided by all who want to have long-lived regimes on this planet.

    One — don’t invade China.

    Two — don’t invade Russia.

    Three — don’t make the Jews your enemy.

  6. The content of this article are nothing more than anti-Israeli conclusory commentary referred to as they were based on factual analysis — which they are not.

    The author declares that Israel will enact a one state solution -‘ why, because he so stated.

    The author in true Liberal fashion believes this country has the right to dictate to Israel on any other country the political and social form it should take. How did that work out in Iraq or Vietnam? Think it will in Afghanistan? The outcome of the Israeli – Palestinian struggle is no more our business than is the outcome of the Sunning – Shiite struggle. Americans need to learn to mind their own business. How many deaths have resulted from our so arrogantly acting in Iraq revently, for example?

    That is the strategic lesson they should teach at the military schools.

    We have 3 independent branches of government in this country. If the head of one of them wishes to invite someone to speak –so be it. Obama should understand what that means. He is rather arrogant when dealing with Congress. What goes around, comes around.

    The analysis of Senator Grahams comments are as silly and exagerated as anything I have ever read — and I am not a supporter of the views held by him and McCain.

    Some Air Force Colonel, retired or otherwise, is never going to dictate to a civilian Senator what they can or cannot state It is completely proper for any or every member of Congress to oppose the Presidents position on any issue — it’s called democracy, one of the underlying principles of this republic.

    Next, no one in the Middle East believes for a second that Obama is going to order an attack on Iran, least of all the Iranians. They are negotiating accordingly. And, if this country was to follow the lead of Europe, than it should expect to end up like those countries -‘ weak and increasingly economically poorer.

    Boehner has the right to invite any speaker he wishes to appear before Congress, Netanyahu has the right to so speak, and this rather off base retired Colonel has the right to write and speak as he wishes in his attempt to influence U.S. policy. It is the essence of democracy, and it should never be subordinated to the whims of some commentary writer or the paranoia of government officials in any country.

    Allowing that would be the greatest threat and cause the greatest damage to America, not some speech.

    1. Uh, no. The Speaker doesn’t have the right to invite the head of a sovereign nation to speak to Congress about sanctions right when said conversation can do the most damage to our official foreign policy. It’s never been done, and it shouldn’t BE done.

      I’ve been pre-Israel up until this mess. Now between the propaganda war(that they’re losing) and this incredible overreach, I’ve been reading more about APAIC and how they have more influence than almost any other special interest group in Washington. It has changed my mind and made me think that maybe blind allegiance and blank checks may have resulted in the intransigence we currently are embroiled in in enacting a 2 state solution.

      I am not an anti-Semite by any stretch, but one can question how much influence a foreign government (and their lobby) should have on our governance, no matter our allegiance to them. After this Netanyahu mess passes, one way or the other, we need to figure out how to support without becoming Israel’s bitch.

    2. might even violate U.S. law. “It says that it’s a violation of U.S. law for an American citizen to work with a foreign official to purposely undermine U.S. policy.”

      That 1799 legislation makes it a crime when “any citizen of the United States, wherever he may be, who, without authority of the United States, directly or indirectly commences or carries on any correspondence or intercourse with any foreign government or any officer or agent thereof, with intent to influence the measures or conduct of any foreign government or of any officer or agent thereof, in relation to any disputes or controversies with the United States, or to defeat the measures of the United States.”

  7. The premise is shallow and ignores the fundamentals of our relationships. One, terrorists want to kill us. Two, Israel wishes to survive. Harry Truman decision to take the burden off England and accept the it and the benefits of Israel provide us security and we are better for it. Turkey is a joke as an ally. Spain would not let us refuel during the 1974 war. Obama is a joke as a leader of national security. He hates everything we stand for. The emperor has no clothes.

  8. Great comments section, though I disagree with many of them. Personally, I think this article is totally on the money. ‘It’s the settlements, stupid’ – as long as that policy (which has accelerated under Netanyahu) continues, Israel is heading towards ultimately having to annex the west bank. All rights being equal once that happens, Israel has two choices: forego its dear democracy and implement some kind of apartheid (arguable that it already exists in many ways) or become a Palestinian/Arab state under free and fair elections. Either way, the current road is a slow sleep walk to disaster and instability.

  9. And a side note: many commentators in recent years have been quoting stats to the effect that many American jews (especially younger ones) are becoming disaffected with right wing Israeli policy, if that is the case, then this is another major element in the debate on the future of US-Israeli relations.

  11. The arab lies have been swallowed whole. to the arab world Tel Aviv is a settlement. The entire existence of Israel is a tragedy that will only be rectified by its complete and total destruction. The PLO was created in 1964. The palistinians could have their own country tomorrow, but they don’t want their own country. they want israel destroyed. Iran and its proxies have killed and maimed thousands of americans since 1979. But apparantly the hatred of israel transcends regard for american lives in this discussion. As for the american aid to israel, we bought the sinai in 1977 and gave it to egypt as a gift. the larger question is why egypt gets the sinai AND another 2 billion a year. If the “settlements” are the problem, why is there violence in Gaza? Too many jews there?

  12. The author stated “This intervention into U.S. politics is a different order of magnitude” and that it “demonstrates a new level of chutzpa” but what about the other way? Obama has sent a team to Israel to, not just “influence” the upcoming elections but to try to manipulate them so that anybody else besides Netanyahu gets elected. This has also happened un several previous administrations. Compared to addressing Congress, the attempt to manipulate elections in Israel is far worse and more damaging to Israel.

    Most people don’t realize that it was Israel who supplied a great deal of information on the USSR, and the US needed it. The troops who first went into Iraq would have been met with nuclear weapons had Israel not taken out the reactor years before.

    And the “foreign aid” that Israel receives from the US is for purchasing military equipment, of which most of it must be from US suppliers.

    Israel doesn’t need the US as much as the US needs Israel.

  13. Israel can be influenced by a US President if he is willing to do so. The tough love approach to Israel and continuing negotiations with Iran is widely seen as threatening to the safety of the Israeli state. If the President and his team are such great diplomats, it would seem the best use of their talents would be to make sure the ally you seek to protect by negotiating with Iran is actually on board. If not you have what you see, a very nervous Israeli leader considering a world where he has to confront a nuclear Iran without US support. Diplomacy is a great tool, the President should try it with our allies.

  14. Israel is the only reliable ally in the me. Turkey is now a base for terrorists. They wont even let us fly over their country to hit isis. Jordan is under siege egypt is iffy and kuwait lol? Saudis??? Arabs are lousy at wars and would never defend themselves. Israel is the bedrock of regional stability. Demographics lol most arab allies are apartheids qatar kuwait and all fund terrorists.

    Us has been meddling in israeli politics for decades so its a bit hypocritical to say israel is meddling in ours. Congress invited netanyahu big deal.

    Meanwhile our arab allies embezzle money for terrorists. Even tho they helped engineer isis guess who is assuming the burden to deal with it? We are. Not the muslims who we had to practically beg to participate.

  15. The opinion of this commenter is that the context is not the state of Israel but the Israeli government that poses a liability to US foreign policy. The genuine issue in specific is that the bureaucratic political governance of Israel that not only poses a liability to the US foreign policy but also poses a threat to the existence of the State of Israel. The next decade is going to be a decisive one, as the tensions continue to escalate; the only feasible option would be in the form of an international intervention. It will take generations to resolve the Arab-Israeli conflict; however, to allow self-entitlement to breed in a country void of democratic governance is a formula for disaster.

  16. There is no question that Israel is a liability for the United States, in particular it is the number one threat to our national security not only for its illegal settlement project but for the way it manipulates our Congress making our claims to liberty and justice for all the biggest hypocrisy of world politics. Far from an ally, with Israel it is all take and take some more. This action by Boehner is the ultimate proof of the outrageous leverage of a tiny nation with the population of the Chicago area acting contrary to the official policy of the United States with absolutely no consequences. Until we shake off this tar baby we have no credibility with other nations. There is no behavior for which we will not give Israel a pass.

    1. It’s not Israel that causes the US to lose credibility with other nations. It’s the clowns and the circus in Washington, D.C. It’s the constant funding of terrorist groups; it’s the ongoing effort of starting wars around the world; it’s the acting as unappointed (and unwanted) global police. That’s what makes the other nations disrespect the US.

  17. “Israel and AIPAC have long been pushing the bounds of a relationship that is, not that you would know it, between a patron and a supplicant.”

    So uh, which one here is the supplicant?

  18. Dick’s comments and recommendations are on the mark. We are and should remain steadfast with the State of Israel. The government of Israel, however, keeps us tossing and turning. Boehner’s invitation to Netanyahu goes against time honored protocol of unity at the sea edge. It impinges on current issues of both nations. One strategic liability issue is a two state arrangement. Our leaders for nearly a half century have urged a two nation solution with Fatah – Palestine and Israel. Lip service from Tel Aviv indicated a willingness. Ongoing settlements, barricades, withholding revenue indicate otherwise. Israel policy led us to vote against UN membership for Palestine, earlier stopping our major contribution to UNESCO. Did we have Israel in mind when invading Iraq? Are we against ICC membership for Israel? Has our total support hurt our relationships with other powers in the ME? Dick’s question re “Strategic Liability for the US?” is serious. Its time we got serious.

  19. If any of you guys are Jews collectively blogging to prove your point, I say one thing…awesome, good or bad the Jewish community will mobilize at a moments notice in order to boost their national interest, you simply can’t find a community like that anywhere on earth! I’m African-American, I don’t agree with Israeli decision making and I love to hate or hate to love they politicians, but I do respect how they get things done by any means, I can’t stand the current country’s situation wish for the best with that, but America encourage it, we have just as much blood on our hands it’s our USA bombs that kill Arabs, and Israeli lives are lost also during these wars, killing and death is just as human nature as hugging and kissing, but I can not and will not blame the Israeli, jews, zionist what ever you want to call them for they grip on American politics, It’s Americas fault our politicians are corrupt, greedy and easily manipulated, if we want a foreign country out, well overhaul the system, we invented it they exploit

    1. it, I think any country who wants to give themselves an edge would do the exact same thing, so jews I believe they hate you because they ain’t you, I think you guys only weakness is not confession to obvious wrongs commented…we Americans call it collateral damage, and without it defending or proving your points takes the human emotion out of it(makes your jobs hard), say all the facts you want you won’t change minds being like that, I love jews defending to the death they beliefs and opinions I really do admire it from a community perspective, but Americans selling out they own country to benefit a foreign power is sickening, I know if I had a lobby and that much power I’ll do the same things, but just don’t forget that America is big brother and not little brother, if so you will lose all you worked hard for good or bad, don’t let ol chap Ben mess something up a country as a whole worked so hard for

  20. Will posted “Moreover, the annual stipend that the US provides Israel doesn’t give the US cart blanche on a sovereign nation”. That is true. but he annual stipend that AIPAC provides/bribes our elected officials with doesn’t give the Israel cart blanche over our sovereign nation. Elected officials accepting money to represent Israel or any other foreign country should be charged with treason.

    Follow the money;
    http://maplight.org/us-congress/interest/J5100/view/all