Since 1948 the United States has given Israel $154 billion in grants and ‘loans’. During the Cold War Israel was a strategic asset to the United States. Now that the Cold War is over the United States relationship with Israel has zero strategic benefit. If anything it is a major strategic liability because its fuels anti-Americanism in the Muslim world. The United States has never had and will never have a moral obligation to support Israel unconditionally. Especially not when Israel has corralled over 1 million Palestinians into the West Bank, an area roughly 41k long my 11k wide, with no access to clean water, food, basic health services, and tightly rationed electricity.

Democrats and Republicans in Congress are scared to death of speaking the truth about Israel because of AIPAC. If they speak out against Israeli genocide in the West Bank AIPAC will make sure to give an unlimited bank roll to whoever runs against them. The United States has forsaken its call to promote peace, independence, and democracy for all people by supporting Israel unconditionally.

Brilliant TB Dump our friends as soon as the strategic benefit ends. Actually, there is a huge strategic benefit. As for AIPAC, pro-Israel groups don’t have a monopoly on lobbyists. I think you should get your facts straight. For starters, take a look at who has the better claim to “Palestine”.

What is the strategic benefit? You would be hard pressed to come up with one. The only thing Israel is good for is doing our dirty work.

I never said that pro-Israel groups have a monopoly on lobbyists. That is an absurd claim that I’d never make. Phrma and Wall St lobbyists have been a dime a dozen crawling around the Hill like ants for the past 18 months.

I’m not getting into some never ending argument about who has the better claim to the land. I recognize Israel’s right to exist. I just think that the United States should rethink giving unconditional support to a rogue state that deliberately kills aid workers and forces another nation of people to live in squalor.

Nothing like discussing Israel & the middle-east to bring the slime(TB) out from under the rocks.

Whoever “vets” Sestak’s appointments/contacts did a “piss-poor” job on the CAIR thing. Hopefully that employee is now an ex-employee.

That said, there is an orthodoxy out there that straight-jackets any circumspect discussion of Israel’s strategy & tactics and their effectiveness.

Forget the moral “rights” of the Palestinians. People who danced in the streets as the twin towers fell have forfeited any humanitarian concerns.

The real question is…if one assume that peace (even a “cold” peace as exists between Israel & Egypt) is in the long term geopolitical interest of both Israel & the U.S., how does one get there?

History teaches that long-term occupation of a hostile populace is not the way. What return on investment has Israel gotten for its 43 years of paying both a human & economic price to maintain such an occupation? Even Ariel Sharon was coming to realize the futility of such an occupation (except for the Golan which has real strategic value)

To keep doing the same general thing for 43 years and somehow expect a different result is folly. Sestak, Sharon & many others of various political persuasions realize this and should not be hammered by those who play the American Jewish Community cheap in their blatant pandering for votes.

I relish the fact that some ppl on this website slander me and write me off as a crack pot yet fail to come up with any good arguments to refute mine and in this case some what agree with my assessment that Israel is of little strategic benefit to the US.

TB, are you one of the unindicted co-conspirators from CAIR?

TB, For facts about ISrael, educate yourself here: http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/myths/mftoc.html. Are you honestly saying that America should not defend Israel in order to pander to the Muslim world? You honestly think the surrounding Arab neighbors really care about those in the West Bank? Your statement is not only posits relations built on ulilitarianism but presupposes that Israel doesn’t merit U.S. support. Israel has conducted itself with unsurpassed morality albeit its mistakes. No other nation has exercised more restraint.