Strategic Importance of Israel

Abstract

Israel has increasingly become a country of strategic importance to the United States. Since its independence, Israel has had a partnership with the United States that has continued to flourish over the years. The values and beliefs shared by the people of both countries put our cultures in close proximity. Both the United States and Israel share the same ideology regarding form of government, economics, the war on terrorism, and the right of Israel to protect itself from its enemies. On May 14th, 1948, Israel proclaimed itself a state. This proclamation was recognized almost immediately by the United States, and the USSR followed suit three days later. In the beginning of its fight as an independent Jewish state, it was not the United States but the USSR who provided the main support to Israel. The USSR provided Israel with the weapons it needed to defend itself from its Arab enemies. While the United States did supply some weapons to Israel, it was of little help because the weapons had to be smuggled into the country due to an American embargo. No one any longer refers to Israel as the 51st state of the union, notwithstanding, Israel has enjoyed the overwhelming support of the United States during the first half-century of its existence. The United States has always been Israel's friend, and sometimes its only friend among nations. Every U.S. president has supported the state during its wars with its Arab neighbors. The key to Israel's strength in the Middle East is the monetary support it has received from the United States since the early 1970s. It was through dollars given by the United States that Israel was capable of building such a strong military among its Arab neighbors. Though there are differing viewpoints, it can be clearly stated that the pros outweigh the cons, and the country of Israel remains an area of strong strategic interest to the United States.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Mar 18, 2005
Accession Number
ADA596599

Entities

People

  • Archie L. Ramos
  • Ismael Vazquez
  • Karen Bolden
  • Mark R Dennis
  • Wendell Cammuse

Organizations

  • United States Army Sergeants Major Academy

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Materials and Manufacturing Processes
  • Space
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Agreements
  • Commerce
  • Defense Systems
  • Foreign Aid
  • Foreign Relations
  • Governments
  • Homeland Security
  • International Law
  • International Trade
  • Manufacturing
  • Middle East
  • Military Equipment
  • Military Operations
  • National Security
  • Security
  • Societies
  • United States

Fields of Study

  • Political science

Readers

  • Nuclear Non-Proliferation and International Security
  • Strategic Security Studies