Richardcyoung.com

  • Home
  • Debbie Young
  • Jimmy Buffett
  • Key West
  • Your Survival Guy
  • How We Are Different
  • Paris
  • About Us
    • Foundation Principles
    • Contributors
  • Investing
    • You’ve Read The Last Issue of Intelligence Report, Now What?
  • The Swiss Way
  • My Rifles
  • Dividends and Compounding
  • Your Security
  • Dick Young
  • Dick’s R&B Top 100
  • Liberty & Freedom Map
  • Bank Credit & Money
  • Your Survival Guy’s Super States
  • NNT & Cholesterol
  • Your Health
  • Ron Paul
  • US Treasury Yield Curve: My Favorite Investor Tool
  • Anti-Gun Control
  • Anti-Digital Currency
  • Joel Salatin & Alfie Oakes
  • World Gold Mine Production
  • Fidelity & Wellington Since 1971
  • Hillsdale College
  • Babson College
  • Contact Us

Here’s a Real Bad Idea

September 30, 2015 By Richard C. Young

In Foreign Policy, James Stavridis outlines his support for a formal alliance with Israel.

He writes:

There is certainly broad consensus on the need to assuage Israeli insecurities. A wide variety of observers have opined on the need to do so, including most recently Michèle Flournoy and Richard Fontaine, both well-regarded defense analysts at the Center for a New American Security. Their prescription includes bolstering allies in the region, maintaining the ability to keep sanctions in the face of other Iranian illicit behavior, increasing the ability verify and “snap back” in the case of cheating, and reducing Iran’s regional influence. Many others have made similar sets of recommendations. But now may well be the time to look again at a decades-old idea: a treaty for Israel.

This conversation goes back to the founding of Israel. The Israelis, perhaps surprisingly, have been cool to the idea, with Abba Eban famously saying, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” about the extant relationship and whether there is a legitimate need for a treaty. The general argument in Israel against such an agreement has been that the independence of Israel in the eyes of the American public might be compromised by such a treaty. Likewise, some in Washington worry about perceptions in the Arab world of a United States that is “taking sides” even more firmly than we already do. Israel applied for membership in NATO in the 1950s and was turned down for a variety of reasons. But the discussion about a possible treaty has continued with ups and downs over the decades.

Of course, the United States has been very generous with aid of all kinds to Israel, particularly in the military dimension — over $100 billion in defense over the years. Perhaps the closest we have come to a treaty was in 1975, when Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and Foreign Minister Yigal Allon signed a memorandum that stated: “The United States Government will view with particular gravity threats to Israel’s security or sovereignty by a world power.”

That memo is a pretty good overview of the level and status of commitment; and there is, of course, a strong and vibrant military relationship between the two nations today. When I was commander of U.S. European Command, I often visited Israel to review our military-to-military cooperation, participate in high-level talks with Israeli leadership (including then-President Shimon Peres), exchange high-level intelligence, compare views on the regional situation, and witness the execution of the enormous military aid package to Israel from the United States. The subject of a treaty did not come up, and most Israelis seem content with the pledges from every U.S. president about the sanctity of the security of the state of Israel.

But things have changed. Iran’s supreme leader recently offered his opinion that Israel will “not exist in 25 years.” The level of acrimony and hostility directed against Israel is not abating with this agreement. Indeed, given the rise of Iranian influence in the region in the wake of the JCPOA and the additional resources Iran will have to devote to its stated goal of destroying Israel, now is the moment to begin a dialogue with Israel about whether the need exists for a formal defensive treaty, similar to the ones we have with Japan, the Philippines, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, and our 27 NATO allies, among many others. We do have with Israel a series of several dozen memorandums of understanding about defense matters from intelligence to terrorism — but not the gold standard of a treaty.

Were Washington to consider such a treaty, it should be done working closely with Sunni allies in the region — Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and the Gulf states. The rise of Iran will require much work with them and may even offer some opportunities to push for cooperation between them and Israel. A regional cooperation organization is not inconceivable.

Negotiating such a treaty with Israel will be complicated on both sides, with many insisting there is no need given the strong relations between the nations. But if we can put the right level of energy into such talks, and find willing interlocutors on the Israeli side, what better symbol of the lasting special relationship between our nations than a treaty?

It’s a dangerous region, and Israel is our strongest ally in it. Now is the time to explore the outlines of such a deal.

If you’re willing to fight for Main Street America, click here to sign up for my free weekly email.

Related Posts

  • Grand Idea
  • Good News/Bad News for the GOP
  • Bad News for the Obama Administration?
  • Author
  • Recent Posts
Richard C. Young
Richard C. Young
Richard C. Young is the editor of Young's World Money Forecast, and a contributing editor to both Richardcyoung.com and Youngresearch.com.
Richard C. Young
Latest posts by Richard C. Young (see all)
  • Will Iran Split MAGA Forever? - June 18, 2025
  • Magnesium and Your Health - June 18, 2025
  • Trump Demands Unconditional Surrender from Iran - June 18, 2025

Dick Young’s Must Reads

  • How Will YOU Feel in Retirement? Let Me Explain
  • The Forgotten America
  • RAPPOPORT: War Applauded by “Stone Cold Utopians”
  • You May Be Surprised by America’s “Least Woke City”
  • Gold/Silver Coins No Longer Allowed in Safe Deposit Boxes
  • “The Goal”: Strong Families, Resilient Faith, Thriving Middle Class.
  • Your Life on Main Street will Never be the Same
  • Globalism Has Made America Dependent on Foreign Countries
  • Mises and Rothbard Finally Get Their Due
  • Tucker Carlson Interviews My Favorite Florida Farmer

Compensation was paid to utilize rankings. Click here to read full disclosure.

RSS Youngresearch.com

  • A Great Victory for Liberty
  • Letchworth: Are You Living Your Best Retirement Life?
  • Job Openings Rise in Four States, National Rate Steady
  • Ethane Shipments Stall as U.S.-China Trade Tensions Rise
  • Historic Tax Cuts Across All States
  • Are You Familiar with the EF and Arithmetic?
  • Canadian Shipbuilder Targets U.S. Arctic Contracts
  • Israel-Iran Conflict Triggers Freight Rate Surge and Maritime Caution
  • US Export Prices Drop Sharply in May
  • Retro Meets Futurism: Dacora’s Ultra-Luxury EV Channels 1930s Elegance

RSS Yoursurvivalguy.com

  • Letchworth: Are You Living Your Best Retirement Life?
  • Will SALT Kill the “One Big Beautiful Bill?”
  • You’ve Read the Last Issue of Intelligence Report: Back to Investor’s Yield
  • The Sound of Silence?
  • Are You Familiar with the EF and Arithmetic?
  • “Happy I Found Richard C. Young’s Intelligence Report”
  • A Classic Issue from Richard C. Young’s Intelligence Report
  • The Rich Man “Doesn’t Need the Markets”
  • Is Bitcoin Really Digital Gold?
  • Epic Man Cave with Car Elevator in Utah

US Treasury Yield Curve: My Favorite Investor Tool

My Key West Garden Office

Your Retirement Life: Traveling the Efficient Frontier

Live a Long Life

Your Survival Guy’s Mt. Rushmore of Investing Legends

“Then One Day the Grandfather was Gone”

Copyright © 2025 | Terms & Conditions | About Us | Dick Young | Archives