The uniqueness of the US-Israel alliance
Apr 27, 2008
GWYNNE DYER<br><I>Eagle-eyed Columnist analyses global issues</I><br><br>YOU have to admire the macho instincts of Hilary Clinton. Asked on the day of the Pennsylvania primary what she would do if Iran made a nuclear attack on Israel, she replied: “If I’m the president, we will attack Iran...
GWYNNE DYER
Eagle-eyed Columnist analyses global issues
YOU have to admire the macho instincts of Hilary Clinton. Asked on the day of the Pennsylvania primary what she would do if Iran made a nuclear attack on Israel, she replied: “If I’m the president, we will attack Iran... we would be able to totally obliterate them.†And it is perfectly true. The US has enough nuclear weapons to blast, irradiate, incinerate and obliterate all 75 million people in Iran many times over. All she has to do is press the button.
First, she has to win the presidential election, of course, but American voters can rest easy in the knowledge that Mrs Clinton would not hesitate to kill tens of millions of people on behalf of their friends in Israel. What a contrast with wimpy Barack Obama, who said: “Using words like ‘obliterate’ — it doesn’t actually produce good results.†What does he use for a backbone?
Tedious purists will point out that Iran does not actually have any nuclear weapons. Indeed, late last year, the US intelligence agencies produced a joint National Intelligence Estimate stating that Iran has not even been working to develop nuclear weapons for the past four years.
The critics and the carpers might also point out that Israel has hundreds of nuclear weapons of its own, and is perfectly capable of obliterating Iran without American help. But practical politicians like Clinton know that there is always some political mileage to be gained by promising to help Israel, whether it needs help or not.
On the very same day, by coincidence, another American was revealed to be in the business of helping Israel. His name is Ben-Ami Kadish, and he appeared in a New York court room, charged with spying on the US for Israel.
Kadish, who worked at the US army’s Armament Research, Development and Engineering Centre in New Jersey from 1979 to 1985, allegedly gave secrets involving information about nuclear weapons, fighter jets and missiles to Israel in the 1980s. He was charged with four counts of conspiracy, including disclosing documents relating to national defence and acting as an agent of Israel.
Justice department officials claim that between 1980 and 1985, Kadish took classified documents related to national defence to his home in New Jersey. The former consul for science affairs at the Israeli Consulate General in New York would come to his home and photograph them in the basement, after which Kadish returned them.
Kadish, 84, is long retired, but he is still in touch with Israeli diplomats. When he realised on March 20, that he was going to be arrested, he called his current Israeli handler, according to the Justice department, and was instructed: “Don’t say anything....What happened 25 years ago? You don’t remember anything.†Nor is this the first time that an American citizen has been publicly accused by the US government of spying for Israel.
In the most prominent case, Jonathan Jay Pollard was convicted in 1987 of passing thousands of secret documents to Israeli agents while working at the US defence department. He was sentenced to life imprisonment for spying for Israel, and ever since then, Israeli governments have been trying to secure his release. He was granted Israeli citizenship in 1998.
State department spokesman Tom Casey, asked what Washington was going to do about the Kadish case, said Israel would be informed of his arrest. “Twenty-plus years ago, during the Pollard case, we noted that this was not the kind of behaviour we would expect from friends and allies, and that would remain the case today,†he said. But there will be no diplomats expelled, none of the dramatics that you would see if the US government caught some American spying for the Russian or Chinese.
To be fair, the US probably spies on Israel as well. It is vitally important, for example, for Washington to know what Israel’s strategic policy is with regard to using its nuclear weapons. Even if Israel were willing to disclose that information to its American ally (which it probably isn’t), Washington would seek independent confirmation of it — which means spies. This is just the normal behaviour of sovereign states, but even close allies normally complain quite loudly when they catch the other party spying on them.
There is a curious asymmetry in the US-Israeli relationship. Israel is the sole beneficiary of this alliance — indeed, the US pays a significant price for it in terms of its relations with other Middle Eastern countries — and yet Israel can spy on the US with impunity.
During the Cold War, Israel was a valuable strategic ally for the US in the Middle East, but that ended 20 years ago. Now it is not a strategic asset at all, but a brilliantly successful Israeli public relations campaign has persuaded the American public otherwise. So much so that Israel can brazenly spy on the US and suffer no political penalty.
Hilary Clinton presumably knows this, but she also knows that threatening mass slaughter in defence of Israel (which does not need to be defended) is a vote-winner in the current political environment in the US. Barack Obama obviously knows it, but although he is not going to commit political suicide by saying it out loud, at least he refused to echo her blood-curdling threat.
The writer is a London-based independent journalist
Eagle-eyed Columnist analyses global issues
YOU have to admire the macho instincts of Hilary Clinton. Asked on the day of the Pennsylvania primary what she would do if Iran made a nuclear attack on Israel, she replied: “If I’m the president, we will attack Iran... we would be able to totally obliterate them.†And it is perfectly true. The US has enough nuclear weapons to blast, irradiate, incinerate and obliterate all 75 million people in Iran many times over. All she has to do is press the button.
First, she has to win the presidential election, of course, but American voters can rest easy in the knowledge that Mrs Clinton would not hesitate to kill tens of millions of people on behalf of their friends in Israel. What a contrast with wimpy Barack Obama, who said: “Using words like ‘obliterate’ — it doesn’t actually produce good results.†What does he use for a backbone?
Tedious purists will point out that Iran does not actually have any nuclear weapons. Indeed, late last year, the US intelligence agencies produced a joint National Intelligence Estimate stating that Iran has not even been working to develop nuclear weapons for the past four years.
The critics and the carpers might also point out that Israel has hundreds of nuclear weapons of its own, and is perfectly capable of obliterating Iran without American help. But practical politicians like Clinton know that there is always some political mileage to be gained by promising to help Israel, whether it needs help or not.
On the very same day, by coincidence, another American was revealed to be in the business of helping Israel. His name is Ben-Ami Kadish, and he appeared in a New York court room, charged with spying on the US for Israel.
Kadish, who worked at the US army’s Armament Research, Development and Engineering Centre in New Jersey from 1979 to 1985, allegedly gave secrets involving information about nuclear weapons, fighter jets and missiles to Israel in the 1980s. He was charged with four counts of conspiracy, including disclosing documents relating to national defence and acting as an agent of Israel.
Justice department officials claim that between 1980 and 1985, Kadish took classified documents related to national defence to his home in New Jersey. The former consul for science affairs at the Israeli Consulate General in New York would come to his home and photograph them in the basement, after which Kadish returned them.
Kadish, 84, is long retired, but he is still in touch with Israeli diplomats. When he realised on March 20, that he was going to be arrested, he called his current Israeli handler, according to the Justice department, and was instructed: “Don’t say anything....What happened 25 years ago? You don’t remember anything.†Nor is this the first time that an American citizen has been publicly accused by the US government of spying for Israel.
In the most prominent case, Jonathan Jay Pollard was convicted in 1987 of passing thousands of secret documents to Israeli agents while working at the US defence department. He was sentenced to life imprisonment for spying for Israel, and ever since then, Israeli governments have been trying to secure his release. He was granted Israeli citizenship in 1998.
State department spokesman Tom Casey, asked what Washington was going to do about the Kadish case, said Israel would be informed of his arrest. “Twenty-plus years ago, during the Pollard case, we noted that this was not the kind of behaviour we would expect from friends and allies, and that would remain the case today,†he said. But there will be no diplomats expelled, none of the dramatics that you would see if the US government caught some American spying for the Russian or Chinese.
To be fair, the US probably spies on Israel as well. It is vitally important, for example, for Washington to know what Israel’s strategic policy is with regard to using its nuclear weapons. Even if Israel were willing to disclose that information to its American ally (which it probably isn’t), Washington would seek independent confirmation of it — which means spies. This is just the normal behaviour of sovereign states, but even close allies normally complain quite loudly when they catch the other party spying on them.
There is a curious asymmetry in the US-Israeli relationship. Israel is the sole beneficiary of this alliance — indeed, the US pays a significant price for it in terms of its relations with other Middle Eastern countries — and yet Israel can spy on the US with impunity.
During the Cold War, Israel was a valuable strategic ally for the US in the Middle East, but that ended 20 years ago. Now it is not a strategic asset at all, but a brilliantly successful Israeli public relations campaign has persuaded the American public otherwise. So much so that Israel can brazenly spy on the US and suffer no political penalty.
Hilary Clinton presumably knows this, but she also knows that threatening mass slaughter in defence of Israel (which does not need to be defended) is a vote-winner in the current political environment in the US. Barack Obama obviously knows it, but although he is not going to commit political suicide by saying it out loud, at least he refused to echo her blood-curdling threat.
The writer is a London-based independent journalist