Quote Originally Posted by Tellafriend View Post

Druff - you didn't answer my question: what exactly does Israel offer us by being our greatest ally in the dangerous region?

seems to me it only increases OUR risk and exposure.
The Middle East is shaped the way it is today because the US has made a lot of commitments to a lot of people, mainly for its own benefit. And in totality things worked out well for the US, much better than many of its client states. In a vacuum commitment to Israel seems like a net loser. But the commitment to Israel it tied to a lot of other commitments that in totality have been very +EV for the US I would say.

Is maintaining our current commitments in the Middle East still in US interests? I really dont know, but I suspect they are.

I will say, if the US was really interested in getting the Israeli right out of power, I think the best strategy would be to stop funding Palestinian bad actors. The ascendence of the Israeli is a reaction to Palestinian belligerence; and I suspect society would quickly shift back left if there was actual peace. It probably will anyways, as soon as the current fighting is done.

But there is no hope for the Palestinians as long as the West keeps funding groups like Fatah and Hamas. That is a complete bottomless pit of authoritarian radicalization and hate. As much as we talk about all the military aid to send Israel, we kind of gloss over that belligerent Palestinian actors are completely supported by Western nations; and cutting them off would be a more effective way to enact positive change.