Israel or Bust!

By Uriel Sinai

This column asserts the depravity of the Obama administration in failing to properly respond to the Turkish flotilla incident involving the Israeli navy on May 31, 2010.  It also provides two reasons for which the United States would do well to wholeheartedly align itself with Israel as an ally.

On May 31, 2010, a Gaza-bound Turkish flotilla intersected Israeli naval ships.  The account of this event differs depending upon which news source you read; either the spiteful Israeli navy savagely brutalized humanitarian relief workers looking to transport goods to Gaza or the demonstrators aboard the Mavi Marma (the Turkish ship) reacted in violence to said navy [1] upon denying a request to dock at the Israeli port of Ashdod, where the Israeli navy hoped to inspect the cargo carried on board.  [Note: if there is any doubt as to the legitimacy of Israel’s actions towards the Turkish flotilla, be sure to take a look at The Naval Warfare Publication regarding The Commander’s Handbook on the Law of Naval Operations”ⁱ.]  Instead of orating some concession of affirmation regarding the Israeli navy’s choice of engagement with said Turkish flotilla, the current U.S. administration chose to tote the line carried by the likes of the United Nations – namely neglecting to conduct an in-depth investigation into the matter before severely admonishing Israel’s alleged poor behavior in blindly attacking those aboard the Mavi Marma – and relinquishing the opportunity to demonstrate a proper response to this event.

What goes unsaid is that from the beginning of this present administration up to the present, an enormous vacuum remains unfilled in affirming and pledging commitment to the special relationship that the United States has with Israel.  Even before President Obama was sworn into office, he hesitated to give a definite pledge of support to Israel as a true ally and align itself [the U.S.] with Israel.  There can be many things said about this (mostly to the discredit of President Obama); regardless of one’s personal political persuasion, there are at least three benefits for the U.S. if it chooses to fully ally itself with Israel.

The first and foremost reason why the United States and other similar-minded nations should support Israel correlates with the socio-economic environment that can be found within Israel.  Due to the fact that Israel stands as the most Westernized state in the Middle East region, it stands to reason that Israel pledges itself a tried and true ally of the United States and as such, deposits itself as a faithful help against such threats as terrorism both in that region and around the world.  Needless to say that the underlying understanding in this line of reasoning is that two or more equally democratic (and/or equally socially developed countries) are, more often than not, likely to agree with each other on a host of issues; the foreign policy of both China and North Korea as they relate to each other affirm this belief.

The second reason why the U.S. should support Israel, as alluded to above, is that Israel is a strategic ally to the United States.  There is no other country that maintains such affectionate relations with the U.S. as Israel does; this can primarily be traced through a history of military cooperation, trade relations and a common religious identity between the U.S. and Israel.  The U.S. would be ill served to imperialize every corner of the Earth.  However, its interests are best served if we have true allies in every one of those corners.  With Israel in the Middle East region, keeping tabs on and limiting the destructive acts of such malefactors as Iran and Syria become much easier [2].

If nothing else, then appeal to your intellect.  It cannot be denied that Israel possesses the strongest military within that region.  Moreover, the state of Israel has developed crafty ways to combat terrorism within their own state [3]; the U.S. Department of Defense would do well to continue military training with Israeli counter terrorism operatives instead of damaging Israeli pride through dictating what they did within their own sovereign.

Notes

i.  Section 7.7.4  – “Breach and Attempted Breach of Blockade”

Works Cited

[3] Byman, Daniel L. “How to Be Effective in Counter-Terrorism.” Brookings: Events. Brookings Institute, 15 Apr. 2005. Web. 18 July 2010. http://www.brookings.edu/events/2005/0415terrorism.aspx

Goldman, David P. Why Should America Support Israel? Spengler. First Things, 30 Aug. 2009. Web. 18 July 2010. http://www.firstthings.com/blogs/spengler/2009/08/30/why-should-america-support-israel/

[2] Hanson, Victor Davis. “Why Support Israel?” National Review 4 Feb. 2002: n. pag. Web. 18 July 2010. http://old.nationalreview.com/hanson/hanson020402.shtml

Inhofe, James M. “Peace in the Middel East: Senate Floor Statement by U.S. Sen. James M. Inhofe (R-OK).” U.S. Senate, 4 Mar. 2002. Web. 18 July 2010. http://inhofe.senate.gov/pressreleases/peace.htm

Moscovitch, Ben. “Blind Flotilla Blaming.” Israel. Foreign Policy Blogs, 2 June 2010. Web. 18 July 2010. http://israel.foreignpolicyblogs.com/2010/06/02/blindflotillablaming/

Rettman, Andrew. “EU’s New Foreign Relations Chief Criticises Israel.” EU Observer. N.p., 16 Dec. 2009. Web. 18 July 2010. http://euobserver.com/9/29167

[1] Special Announcements – No. 114. The Middle East Media Ressearch Institute. N.p., 31 May 2010. Web. 18 July 2010. http://www.memri.org/report/en/0/0/0/0/0/0/4249.htm

Tucker, Jonathan B. Strategies for Countering Terrorism: Lessons from the Israeli Experience. Homeland Security Studies & Analysis Institute. N.p., Mar. 2003. Web. 18 July 2010. http://www.homelandsecurity.org/journal/articles/tucker-israel.html

Original Appearances of Media

1) Visual by Uriel Sinai