On October 1, Iran launched a massive airstrike against Israel in retaliation for the assassinations of senior Hezbollah and Hamas leaders as well as some Iranian officers in Beirut and Tehran.
In anticipation of the attack and to help defend its ally Israel, the United States had expanded its already significant military presence in the Middle East. Its destroyers helped intercept 180 projectiles fired by Iran at military bases in Israel. Such military action has become routine for the United States, which has repeatedly intervened in the region in recent decades to directly or indirectly protect Israel.
However, US military interventions have had the opposite effect of the intended effect: they have made Israel more vulnerable and more dependent on an ever greater deployment of US military power. This legacy has also made Israel the most dangerous place in the world for Jews.
Indeed, the US-Israeli fixation on military force has prevented any effort to address the root causes of tensions in the region – primarily the Palestinian-Zionist conflict. It has also generated powerful new military actors and popular resistance groups across the Middle East. Hezbollah, Hamas, Ansar Allah (the Houthis), and others now regularly attack U.S. and Israeli targets.
The axis power Israel currently faces stems not only from its weapons, but also from its close alignment with Arab public opinion. It is willing and able to militarily resist Israel’s occupation and subjugation of Arabs, something no Arab state has done since 1973. All of this reflects decades of US-Israeli aggression and wars, as well as the inability of Arab governments to protect their lands, people and people. sovereignty.
Washington’s rapid and massive military support for Israel perpetuates the cycle of violence and also contradicts its exhortations to de-escalate and seek a ceasefire in Gaza and Lebanon. Few in the Middle East seriously believe Washington’s words, as its actions more consistently reveal that – with very few exceptions – war, sanctions, threats and military buildup have been its preferred tools for confronting enemies. real or imaginary in the region. since the Second World War.
A regional war is steadily developing and the United States is not letting itself be dragged into Israel, but is joining it voluntarily. This is because the United States loves war and loves waging war for Israel. There are several reasons for this.
Washington has a penchant for war because American politicians understand that it stimulates the economy. The U.S. defense budget, which now stands at nearly $850 billion, is growing 2 to 3 percent per year, and for good reason. War generates defense spending, investment, jobs and profits for hundreds of large and small businesses across the country, most of which donate generously to the campaigns of elected officials every two years.
So far, Washington has spent between $1.8 billion and $4 billion to bomb Ansar Allah in Yemen, continuing its attacks on ships passing through the Red Sea, launched in response to the Israeli genocide in Gaza. The combined Israeli, American, British and French operation to intercept drones and missiles launched by Iran against Israel in April cost around $1.1 billion. The military response of October 1 was probably just as costly. Some Arab countries also contributed to the interception of Iranian missiles, because Israel can no longer protect itself.
Washington spends these large sums of money willingly, to strengthen its global position and also to continue to fuel its vast military-industrial complex via lucrative contracts for domestic use and export abroad.
Annual U.S. aid to Israel of nearly $4 billion also primarily covers war systems purchased from U.S. companies, constituting a significant annual cash injection into the U.S. military-industrial complex.
Besides fueling and displaying its war machines, the United States also enjoys waging war for Israel for other reasons.
Close political and military ties between Israel and the United States are in part a lingering holdover from the Cold War, when Israel was seen as a key ally defending American interests in a region dominated by hostile countries allied with the Union. Soviet. After the Cold War, Washington continued to view Tel Aviv as a strategic ally helping to maintain American dominance in the Middle East.
U.S. policy is shaped by multiple forces, including Israeli propaganda, lobbying groups, Messianic Christians, pro-Israel mainstream media, and others – all of which also facilitate military action to defend Israel.
President Joe Biden stands out among recent American presidents as one of the most sincerely fanatical supporters of Israel, for two reasons: because he benefits politically from this position, and because his formative years in American politics coincided with the height of Israeli propaganda and national achievements. in the 1960s and 1970s. Israel was still seen at the time as a divinely aided miracle, born from the horrors of the Holocaust in Europe – a view that the American president, who proudly calls himself a Zionist, still holds.
The US Congress also reflects this dynamic. He ensured the steady flow of generous aid and special economic and technological privileges to Israel, as well as the legal commitment (PDF) to keep Israel more powerful than all its enemies.
The American mainstream media has played a central role in keeping the American public ignorant of Palestinian realities and supporting Israel and American largesse toward it. He has justified US military adventures abroad and systematically biased his reporting to suit Israeli positions on conflicts with the Palestinians, Lebanon, Iran and the Middle East in general.
This latest confrontation will probably not be the last. As regional conflict erupts, American armadas will continue to visit us regularly and destabilize the region and the world. This legacy of American militarism over the past quarter century has given rise to some 60 military bases and other installations across the Middle East.
This trend will continue until wiser leaders attempt to resolve the Palestinian-Israeli and US-Iran conflicts through negotiations rooted in the principle that Israel, Palestine, Iran and all other interested parties must enjoy the same rights in matters of State, sovereignty and security. The United States and Israel make vague statements to this effect, but act in a way that prevents a real restoration of peace and promotes eternal military conflicts.
The vast majority of Arab public opinion is convinced that the Palestinians must have their sovereign state as part of the process of achieving Arab-Israeli regional peace. This sentiment is also slowly spreading among the American public, perhaps paving the way for policy change in Washington.
Indeed, investing in genuine peace efforts would be easier, more equitable, less costly, and far less destructive than perpetuating the current colonial situation that is regularly reinforced by visiting U.S. troops. This is the best and probably the only way to guarantee Israel’s security.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial position of Tel Aviv Tribune.