is it because of the Israel lobby, or because Israel serves some sort of strategic purpose?
Mearsheimer seems to think that it's mostly because of the lobby. I think I agree with him; I really can't think of any unique strategic purpose that Israel serves for the US. if Israel disappears tomorrow, the US still has colossal military bases in the Gulf states, it still has friendly governments in Jordan and Egypt, it occupies Syria and Iraq, it has ISIS to stage crazy terrorist attacks, etc. what exactly does Israel do that's worth all the negatives for the US?
I watched Finkelstein's recent interview on Al Jazeera and he mentioned he disagreed with Mearsheimer. just curious what everyone here thinks.
Why not use the Saudis for that? They're an 'ally' and hate Iran too.
Because the Saudis would get overrun by Iran within a month
Also, more "allies" is always better than less "allies"
They provide a lot of oil. Israel can’t exactly threaten to befriend all its neighbors to get what it wants from the US. But Saudi Arabia can threaten to hold back oil, and it can also lobby OPEC to do the same, or at least the Muslim states. Gas prices rising is much more dangerous to American politicians than Israeli politicians criticizing them