I think we're in much agreement in many ways. I'm very critical of US foreign policy, especially in the past 20 years. I served in the US Army during the 'Global War on Terror'. One of the things I often point out is that countries or people that are reliant or dependent on US aid, tend to get abandoned at the worst possible times.
It happened to the Kurds in Iraq. It happened to the Afghans that supported the US in their country. Libya is far worse off after the US 'intervened'. It happened to the South Vietnamese. It's happening to the Ukrainians right now.
The weaponry that the US provides Ukraine with to escalate its attacks on Russia only dig Ukraine into a deeper hole. It's going to be far worse off when the US inevitably winds down support than it arguably would have been if the US had not meddled and goaded it into entering a protracted war that it is now likely to walk away from. Ukraine is going to have to swallow some very painful concessions I fear when the war inventively ends in some sort of agreement/deal. Ukraine cannot win this war, even with fancy American equipment. That's not enough to make up for the incredible demographic advantage Russia has in terms of the number of people it can throw into the meat grinder of war for years.
I think the fact that Israel is so dependent on US military aid is a problem... not just for the US taxpayer that's on the hook for yet another endless conflict, but also for Israel.
Rather than becoming addicted and dependent on the US for its survival, I think it would be wise for Israel to wean itself off of US support, because as you pointed out, the US is an extremely unreliable ally. It would be better for Israel to become self-sufficient and less reliant on US aid on its own terms, rather than the US abandoning them on a whim at the worst possible time. If the US gets into a conflict with China, for example, there would likely be a diverting of aid from Israel (just as there was a diverting of aid from Ukraine to Israel after Oct. 7).
The same thing could happen to Netenyahu as what's happening to Zelensky. Have you noticed how Western enthusiasm for that conflict has quietly subsided as the US power brokers wish to quietly slink away from that lost effort?
I also agree with you about the US being able to retreat back to safety of North America, but I think this is the reason why the US (and Americans) should be cautious about backing Israel to fight conflicts with an intensity that it might not be able to sustain on its own.
I think One reason Americans (and to some extent Canadians) are so hawkish, is that our citizens do not really experience any serious consequences in terms of civilian casualties or territory loss/destruction. North Americans are divorced from war and conflict in a way that Israelis are not, as their citizens are in the direct line of fire.
I agree with you whole-heartedly on this point.
However, I think it is for this reason that it is exceptionally arrogant for Americans to encourage Israel to escalate conflicts where it is Israeli teens dying, and the people of that region suffering - not North Americans.
This is often framed in terms of 'supporting' other countries. But really, I think it's more a case of using them. The US uses Israel (and Ukraine) as a pawn in its proxy wars, and brags about how it's a good 'deal' for the American taxpayer to pay for Ukrainians, or Israeli Jews to die in combat, so Americans don't have to.
Is this really noble or honorable? To demand that smaller countries fight wars on our behalf when they are exposed to all the risk, unlike the US and Canadians that are comfortable across the ocean, and well out of harms way?
Many Americans have fought and died in wars that benefited Israel. Netenyahu has been urging the US to attack Iraq, Iran and Syria for years now, because it serves strategic Israeli interests as well as American (at least for now). I doubt the US would have spent 20+ years fighting in the Middle East if Israel wasn't a factor.
The US still have troops stationed in Iraq and Syria that assist Israel in fighting various Iranian-backed groups. So, I don't think it's really accurate to say that no American has ever fought on Israel's behalf.
Furthermore, many Americans have dual Israeli citizenship, and have served in the IDF. I'm not entirely sure of the legality of that as there is a gray area in terms of Americans serving in other foreign militaries. For example, it is illegal for an American to try to join the French foreign legion, or even the Canadian military, without renouncing their US citizenship (though obviously exceptions have been made in the past, like the volunteers who fought for Britain in WW1 and WW2 before the US officially entering those wars).
On the other hand, very few Israelis to my knowledge have fought on the USA's behalf. I don't think Israel had any boots on the ground in Iraq or Afghanistan. Canada, France, and UK did.
I understand why. Israel is a much smaller country with a far smaller military than the US, and Israel (and the US) did not advise placing Israeli troops in Iraq or Afghanistan for the same reason US does not put troops in Ukraine now: Fear of provoking a wider conflict due to the 'optics' of Israelis being seen fighting in other Arab/Muslim countries, or US troops getting in a direct confrontation with Russian forces and risking WW3.
Which is all a convenient excuse to continue letting the Ukrainians die for US interests, don't you think?
How many Israelis do you think are being sacrificed by US imperialism to serve interests of the US that don't necessarily align with Israel? Is it smart for Israel to continue to be dependent on US aid for its survival?
