Unlike NATO, South Korea and Japan, Israel has extended the strategic arm of the US with no need for US military personnel. Op-ed.
By Amb. (ret.) Yoram Ettinger, INN , Jun 20 , 2021
Pre-1967In 1948, the CIA opposed the reestablishment of the Jewish State, contending that it would be a feeble entity, unable to withstand an all-out Arab war – which would yield a second Holocaust in less than ten years – fully dependent on US soldiers for its survival, jeopardize US ties with the Arab World, imperil US access to Persian Gulf oil, and probably join the Soviet Bloc.
The State Department and the Pentagon, along with the New York Times and Washington Post, seconded the CIA assessment.
On the other hand, Clark Clifford, President Truman’s trusted advisor, who dedicated much time to studying the track record of Jewish sovereignty in Middle East history, impressed upon the President that an independent Jewish State would be a most effective military power, reliable, stable and inherently pro-US.
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