>SNIP
>>What I am about to say will probably alienate me permanently from some here, thinking of Tamar in particular. (Tamar, I ask your forgiveness in advance -- you are one of my faves). I think Israel is a horrible ally. They have brought the U.S. nothing but trouble. 9/11 would not have happened if not for our persistent bias for Israel in the endless resentment between Jews and Muslims. We shouldn't be sticking our necks in. Leave them to their endless resentments. To those who are committed enough to care so much about it, move there and duke it out. Don't bring foreign fights to our shores.
>
>Over the years I have developed a strong feeling of disgust regarding U.S. foreign affairs. Our country spends a lot of money for temporary political gains which usually end up turning around and biting us where the sun doesn't shine. We have put despicable people in power and created more blood shed for countries. Our involvement takes dollars away from this country and only brings us temporary allies (sometimes economic trade advantages) and usually ends up making more enemies than friends in the long run. I believe we should get out of the foreign affairs business and keep our money at home. The amount of money we have given Israel, as well as the political backing, is ridiculous. I don't want to get into the UN and Israel's failure to abide. Simply amazing. Having said that, I think there may be a moral obligation to assist a democracy with defense when another nation publicly states its goal of wiping it off the face of the earth.

Well said. As far as the last part, that was once true but I think at this point Israel is better armed than any other country in the middle east. The Palestinians, meanwhile, are literally throwing rocks.