----- Original Message ----- From: "Robert J. Chassell" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Tuesday, December 14, 2004 10:15 AM Subject: Re: Are You A Neocon? Neocon Quiz
> Gautam Mukunda <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > You need simply ask - how much did the US use that "unsinkable > aircraft carrier" in any of its numberless conflicts in the Gulf? > > Well, the Israelis won three wars against the Arab countries in its > first 25 years. During most of that time, the US did not need to > fight much (it did send troops to the Lebanon in 1958). The US was > allied, more or less, with the then top dog in the region. It let > Isreal be a proxy, and received some rewards. Later, after Iraq and > other countries got more for their oil, Israeli influence waned. Actually, Israel was outmanned and outgunned during that time. In '48 almost no one expected it to survive. In '73 the US had to risk nuclear war to protect Israel. In addition, in the '50s, the British and French were more closely allied with Israel than was the US. > As for the present, as I said before, a reason for the US to ally with > Israel is that people in the US might figure that Israelis will have > no choice but to fight or threaten to fight, but that the results will > help the US at a lower cost to the US. Actually, the cost of supporting Israel is fairly high for the US. Risking nuclear war _once_ far outweighs any benefits. Since Kissinger rated the chance of nuclear war during the '73 war as the highest ever, at least he must have felt the risk was not minimal. We threated to shoot Soviet planes and sink Soviet ships, IIRC. > Why do you think a conflict must involve war? Except when two > countries disagree over their relative power, `negotiation under > coercion' is much more common. OK, but just looking at the way Europe is bending over backwards to accomodate China indicates where simple self interest lies. > What if the Chinese offer to pay for some of the natural gas they > expect to buy from Iran in Euros rather than dollars? Then it will have to exchange the dollars it makes from its biggest trading partner for Euros. Dan M. _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
