LETTER: Will Israel drag US down?

After World War 1 Britain controlled the Middle East. The Abadan refinery in Iran supplied the British Navy and was a strategic asset.

In 1945, concerned about global oil supply constraints and with knowledge of huge reserves in Saudi Arabia via Texaco and Chevron, the US decided to eject British influence from the region. The process began with the “secret” meeting between US president Franklin Roosevelt and King Abdul Aziz of Saudi Arabia aboard the USS Quincy in the Suez Canal’s Great Bitter Lake.

Roosevelt had two objectives — securing the king’s agreement to a Jewish homeland in Palestine and the potential Saudi oil at the expense of the British. This illustrates the connection between oil and Israel, at least in the mind of US political elites. While the king adamantly opposed a Jewish homeland, the oil deal survived the creation of the state of Israel and has subsisted until now.

Fracking ended US dependency on Middle Eastern oil and gas. Multiple wars in the region have contributed to America’s crippling debt. Russo-Chinese diplomatic initiatives have been fruitful while Israel’s actions in the latest conflict are uniting the Arab world both against it and its patron, the US. Israel cannot survive without US arms and technical support.

The recent exploding pagers need to be viewed in this light. While disruptive and embarrassing for Hezbollah in the short term, the historical tide remains largely unaffected. Perhaps the bigger question is whether Israel will take the US down with it, or if the US will cut ties and let Israel sink by itself.    

James Cunningham
Camps Bay

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