I see the relationship as a "parental" one. The US has so much power over Israel, over it's survival, that it controls, in too many ways, who is in power and the decisions Israel makes. A parent does not allow his children to do anything they want. A parent does not ingore bad behavior. A parent intervenes when his child gets in trouble or hurts others. Failure to intervene, to guide the child over whom the parent has so much influence, is a egregious failure in responsible functioning in the relationship.
If you don't like the "parent" relationship, try partner. A partner who invests as much as the US does in Israel has a responsibility to guide its malfunctioning partner.
Since Bush became president, you only have to look at the number of terrorist attacks, the number of people in Israel and among Israel's neighbors, to see that Israel's decisions have been poor ones.
The Bush administration has been a cheap, shallow friend of Israel, using Israel, like the Twilight Zone aliens with the cookbook, to engage its strongest base, the Christian right, throught their cravings to attain the rapture. This is not a fantasy, not science fiction. It is a bizarre, macabre reality that every Jew and every Israeli should be heavily factoring into the "friend of Israel" equation.
Pounding harder on the middle east war drums, attacking Iran is not the answer. Iraq was an already beaten, de-clawed, emasculated country when Bush waged his "war" with "mission accomplished." We've seen how well planned and successful that effort was. Yes, Saddam was taken out, only to be replaced by something far worse-- the loss of THE balancing factor in the middle east, which kept Iran at bay.
An attack on Iran, with a much larger population, with years of preparation and a much stronger military will not be nearly as easy. Even if the US succeeds in doing to Iran what it did to Iraq, destroying communications, airforce and breaking up ground forces, the response from Iran will be incredibly more destructive, starting with Israel. Sure, the US will be able to pull a "soutnern Lebanon" on Iran, destroying much of the infrastructure of Iran. But in the process it will lose much more of what is left of any good will it has left in the Arab and Muslim worlds. It will further unify more hundreds of millions of Muslims against the US. It will build hatred for the US and Israel and the Jews even more, just as Ohmert's failed Lebanese adventure has done. (And replacing Ohmert with more hawkish Bibi Netanyahu will only make matters worse.)
A good friend of Israel will help Israel find peace, stability and will help turn neighbors who are enemies into trading partners with synergistic interests that build peace and good relations. You won't see that coming from the right wing in the US. Supporting Bush and his right wing supporters is almost a guarantee that Israel will face more death, in the next two years than it has seen in its lifetime. Supporting Bush and his right wing war supporters may feel like a way to help Israel. But Israel has gotten itself into deep trouble and greater danger than ever before with the help of Bush and his "cookbook" Christian right supporters.
It's time for the true "friends of Israel" the Jews who love Israel and want what is best for Israel, to get off their war horses and start supporting leaders who work closely with Israel and its neighbors in efforts that make Israel safer and the Jews less hated not more hated.
The steroid version of support for Israel-- low brain, no diplomacy, high conflict-- has not worked the past six years. Things are worse. More people are dying. Under democratic leadership Israel was better off. Diplomacy requires the US to lean on Israel, but more important, to lean on the Saudis and other Arab partners, which, let's face it, Bush has done a terrible job at. The Dems are friends of Israel, but not as friendly with the oil Arabs. You don't see Dems hobnobbing and hugging emirs, princes, sheiks and kings, like Bush does. It will be much easier for the Dems to play hardball with supposedly friendly Arab nations that have consistently sabotaged peace efforts relating to Israel.
note: The rapture/messiah story is not just one embraced by Christian fundamentalists. Some Muslims and Jews also embrace similar apocalyptic narratives. It is reported that Ahmadinejad believes that he is playing a key role by intensifying the hostilities.
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