*During June 13-21, 2025, Israel carried out a most complex and successful military offensive against Iran’s Ayatollah regime, which is the epicenter of anti-US global Islamic terrorism and drug trafficking, obliterating Iran’s air force and ground-to-air tracking, jamming and intercepting systems. This Israeli offensive facilitated the June 21, 2025 US bombing of three critical Iranian nuclear facilities, with no effective Iranian opposition.
*In 2017, Israel infiltrated an al-Qaeda bomb-making cell in Syria, sharing with the US details of a scheme to plant explosives in batteries of laptops and other electronic devices, while evading airport screening devices. Consequently, airport security has been dramatically upgraded, sparing the US homeland security nightmare.
*These two cases demonstrate the pro-active Israeli contributions to US homeland and national security, which no other US ally would/could perform in the face of mutual threats, such as Sunni and Shiite global terrorism, and in defiance of Russian and Chinese interests.
*Previous examples of Israel’s pro-active game-changing operations and their benefits to the US include:
<The 2007 destruction of Syria’s nuclear reactor, which spared the region and the globe the ramifications of a nuclearized civil war in Syria;
<The 1981 destruction of Iraq’s nuclear reactor, which snatched all pro-US Arab oil-producing regimes from the jaws of Saddam Hussein, and spared the US a nuclear confrontation during the 1991 First Gulf War;
<The 1982 destruction of 20 most advanced Soviet ground-to-air missile batteries (“Operation Mole Cricket 19”), which tilted the global balance of power in favor of the US, and is still featured prominently in the US Air Force’s training program and battle tactics;
<The 1976 Entebbe Operation, which inspired and upgraded the US counter-terrorism performance;
<The 1970 Israeli military deployment to the Golan Heights, which forced a rollback of the pro-Soviet Syrian invasion of pro-US Jordan. The invasion could have triggered the ousting of all pro-US oil-producing Arab regimes south of Jordan, yielding the USSR a strategic bonanza, at a time when the US was bogged down in Southeast Asia, unable to dispatch a military force to Jordan, and largely-dependent on Persian Gulf oil;
<The 1967 Six Day War, which aborted the Soviet plan to catapult Egyptian President Nasser into Pan Arab leadership, while toppling every pro-US Arab regime;
<etc.
US’ European allies
*The national security of NATO’s European countries is highly reliant on US military bases, requiring an annual US appropriation of some $36bn, including 80,000 US servicemen.
*Unlike European allies of the US (as well as Japan and South Korea – $7bn annual appropriation and 81,000 US servicemen), Israel does not need US military bases on its soil, is largely self-funded and is militarily self-manned. Since 1967, upon gaining control of the mountain ridges of the Golan Heights, Judea and Samaria, Israel has been transformed from a security-consumer to a security-producer for the US; from a war-inducing to a war-deterring US ally.
*While Europe is a platform for US military bases, Israel is a platform for US research and development bases of 250 US high tech giants (e.g., Nvidia, Intel, Google, Microsoft, Hewlett-Packard, Applied Materials, IBM, Philips, Apple). These Israeli-based research and development centers have played a key role in enhancing the US’ global technological edge, increasing US exports and expanding US employment.
*Unlike European allies of the US – whose strategic cooperation depends on the Left/Right ideology of the government and domestic public opinion – a vast majority of Israel’s constituency and political establishment has been unconditionally pro-US, irrespective of Left/Right governments in Jerusalem and independent of DEM or GOP presidency in Washington.
*Moreover, European ideology, perception of national interests and public opinion could slow/limit support for specific US-led military operations, especially those outside Europe, or involving high military risk. Contrary to the overwhelming support in Israel for strategic cooperation with the US, European support is not automatic or homogeneous.
*Right-of-Center European governments tend to underscore their unilateral national interests, tending to align strategically with the US. On the other hand, Left-of-Center European governments tend to highlight a multilateral (cosmopolitan) common denominator with the European Union, the (anti-Western) UN and (anti-Western) international organizations, demonstrating skepticism toward US military initiatives.
*The 1991 First Gulf War highlighted the limited support of the US by some NATO allies, which restricted their involvement to funding, rather than dispatching any military personnel. The current war on Islamic terrorism has exposed NATO’s reluctance to fully-support the US, lending credence to a contention, by many US Generals, that NATO stands for No Action Talk Only.
*Notwithstanding their frequent reservations about the US’ military initiatives, European countries are anxious about the possibility of a significant reduction in the US military presence in Europe, which may jeopardize regional and global stability.
The bottom line
Unlike all other US allies, Israel produces an annual R-o-I (Return-on-Investment) of at least a few hundred percent on the annual US investment of $3.8bn, which is misperceived as “foreign aid.” Israel, the pro-active US ally, carries out ground-breaking military operations,and performs as the Battle-Tested-Laboratory, Innovation Center and Showroom of the US defense and aerospace industries, as well as the US Armed Forces. Israel has spared the US defense industries many years of research and development, which amounts to mega billions of dollars increasing US exports, expanding US employment and upgrading US battle tactics.
This column was published at The Ettinger Report
The views expressed in guest columns are not necessarily the views or positions of the CCNS or its members.
