69 million page views

A Common Interest of Mutual Respect of Other's Rights to Sovereignty - Survival

Reader comment on item: [Symposium on] The U.S. and Israel
in response to reader comment: What common interests ?

Submitted by M. Tovey (United States), Mar 9, 2012 at 16:17

A common interest for any nation is to survive and if possible, do so with commonality of interests of neighbors. In the case of the United States, by virtue of siding with Israel in the rebirthing of a Jewish nation in 1948, the United States was inexorably linked in the fundamentalist Muslim with Israel, a commonality with a value too few appreciate. That the common interest is intrinsic on many levels, there are substantial pragmatic reasons to 'look out for each others back.'

War in the Middle East is a fact of life; that hostilities are part and parcel of living in a region that has long histories of tribal and feudal antipathies over borders, resources and water rights. Granted, not until the emergence of oil as a resource is a relatively recent development in the epochal scheme of things, water on the other hand has been the very reason of life. Color this religiously for the underlying strife that goes to the time of the ancients of the Israelites and their 'neighbors,' and one gets into a complex human fabric of philosophic differences that have defied peaceful terms from the ancient feuds.

So how does a nation from around the world that has enough power to exert an undue influence in places many can hardly spell let alone understand the underlying causes strife have anything in common with a speck of land like Israel? Because, it is not due merely to human rationale and reason, but of a relationship made of a more transcendental nature, of an understanding by some that if the United States does fail Israel, Israel will still make it s way through the threat of fire and brimstone and those who do not honor her in her quest for parity in a world gone awry will be consumed in their lost cause; and that's the common interest of survival that the United States of America should be seeking and not the posturing that requires the greasing of oil money interests.

Submitting....

Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome but not comments that are scurrilous, off-topic, commercial, disparaging religions, or otherwise inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the "Guidelines for Reader Comments".

Submit a comment on this item

Reader comments (34) on this item

Title Commenter Date Thread
Does America want to be ruled by Israeli policy decisions? [65 words]Gary AndersonJun 12, 2012 14:35196259
US policy in the Middle East [141 words]peterrApr 28, 2012 04:48195297
1Our Hero [83 words]John BullockApr 26, 2012 13:44195268
Support For Israel [16 words]CliffordApr 18, 2012 20:18195177
Reason for U.S.-Israeli alliance [98 words]Jesse BakerApr 17, 2012 20:50195143
1Nicely presented [19 words]jackyApr 16, 2012 08:02195112
Thoughts [93 words]
w/response from Daniel Pipes
Anon.Apr 15, 2012 23:44195105
1Proactive Israelis & Jews - Resettlement of Palestinians [221 words]LudvikusApr 7, 2012 16:22195023
1military alliance unclear [179 words]mythApr 6, 2012 16:45195008
[Symposium on] The U.S. and Israel [42 words]Julius WatlerApr 15, 2012 13:44195008
At the center of it all [93 words]William EastApr 3, 2012 00:19194924
1United States has a history [83 words]charles josephApr 1, 2012 15:44194903
Disconfort about being affiliated [80 words]AlmaMar 31, 2012 06:01194878
It is little comfort [96 words]saraMar 14, 2012 18:54194389
1The oil barrier [168 words]Paul B.Mar 13, 2012 16:28194345
Things in Common [41 words]Jay1Mar 11, 2012 22:10194276
The talk vs the reality [108 words]BJMar 11, 2012 20:15194271
1What common interests ? [295 words]Lars NielsenMar 8, 2012 03:22194146
A Common Interest of Mutual Respect of Other's Rights to Sovereignty - Survival [335 words]M. ToveyMar 9, 2012 16:17194146
Common interests [88 words]Lars NielsenMar 10, 2012 03:15194146
Of course they share common interests [91 words]saraMar 10, 2012 17:51194146
What resolution of the palestinian conflict ? [223 words]Lars NielsenMar 11, 2012 07:36194146
1Israel cannot take the blame for the arab fractioning [588 words]saraMar 11, 2012 19:14194146
Common Interests in Uncommon Circumstances [416 words]M. ToveyMar 12, 2012 11:58194146
Points taken [327 words]Lars NielsenMar 13, 2012 11:41194146
1True common interests [366 words]Jay B.Mar 13, 2012 17:46194146
4Why would they fight for Israel? [406 words]saraMar 13, 2012 20:55194146
Obama has no such ideals [139 words]Y Brandstetter MDApr 23, 2012 01:54194146
What did you do in the war dad? [18 words]Uneducated bozoMay 26, 2012 14:16194146
What Dad and the Uncles Did Evidently are Lost National Memories [96 words]M. ToveyJun 4, 2012 14:01194146
Israel and USA as Obama does not see [285 words]NuritGMar 8, 2012 01:22194134
U.S.Policy toward Israel [22 words]Dannel R. BallesterosMar 7, 2012 12:48194090
Israel and America are more like joined twins. [69 words]Phil GreendMar 6, 2012 19:35194035
3U. S. Cannot Afford to be an Obstruction to Israel's Right of Defense [431 words]M. ToveyMar 6, 2012 12:59194011

Follow Daniel Pipes

Facebook   Twitter   RSS   Join Mailing List

All materials by Daniel Pipes on this site: © 1968-2024 Daniel Pipes. daniel.pipes@gmail.com and @DanielPipes

Support Daniel Pipes' work with a tax-deductible donation to the Middle East Forum.Daniel J. Pipes

(The MEF is a publicly supported, nonprofit organization under section 501(c)3 of the Internal Revenue Code.

Contributions are tax deductible to the full extent allowed by law. Tax-ID 23-774-9796, approved Apr. 27, 1998.

For more information, view our IRS letter of determination.)