Explaining the United States-Israel Relationship
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View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Calhoun, Institutional Archive of the Naval Postgraduate School Calhoun: The NPS Institutional Archive Theses and Dissertations Thesis Collection 2013-06 Explaining the United States-Israel relationship Waxer, Kira N. Monterey, California: Naval Postgraduate School http://hdl.handle.net/10945/34759 NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL MONTEREY, CALIFORNIA THESIS EXPLAINING THE UNITED STATES-ISRAEL RELATIONSHIP by Kira N. Waxer June 2013 Thesis Advisor: James Russell Second Reader: Tristan Mabry Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK REPORT DOCUMENTATION PAGE Form Approved OMB No. 0704-0188 Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 1 hour per response, including the time for reviewing instruction, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to Washington headquarters Services, Directorate for Information Operations and Reports, 1215 Jefferson Davis Highway, Suite 1204, Arlington, VA 22202-4302, and to the Office of Management and Budget, Paperwork Reduction Project (0704-0188) Washington DC 20503. 1. AGENCY USE ONLY (Leave blank) 2. REPORT DATE 3. REPORT TYPE AND DATES COVERED June 2013 Master’s Thesis 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE 5. FUNDING NUMBERS EXPLAINING THE UNITED STATES-ISRAEL RELATIONSHIP 6. AUTHOR(S) Kira N. Waxer 7. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) 8. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION Naval Postgraduate School REPORT NUMBER Monterey, CA 93943-5000 9. SPONSORING /MONITORING AGENCY NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) 10. SPONSORING/MONITORING N/A AGENCY REPORT NUMBER 11. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES The views expressed in this thesis are those of the author and do not reflect the official policy or position of the Department of Defense or the U.S. government. IRB Protocol number ____N/A____. 12a. DISTRIBUTION / AVAILABILITY STATEMENT 12b. DISTRIBUTION CODE Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited A 13. ABSTRACT (maximum 200 words) This thesis examines to what extent International Relations (IR) Realist Theory explains the United States-Israel relationship. It studies the evolution of the United States-Israel relationship through the Cold War and post-Cold War period to analyze how it has developed to the one these two countries share today. The United States gives Israel robust economic, military and diplomatic support. This thesis argues that the benefits that the United States receives outweigh the costs of the relationship, and that supporting Israel helps achieve the United States’ national interests of preserving stability and access to oil in the region. 14. SUBJECT TERMS foreign policy, foreign aid, Israel, realism, U.S.-Israel relations 15. NUMBER OF PAGES 77 16. PRICE CODE 17. SECURITY 18. SECURITY 19. SECURITY 20. LIMITATION OF CLASSIFICATION OF CLASSIFICATION OF THIS CLASSIFICATION OF ABSTRACT REPORT PAGE ABSTRACT Unclassified Unclassified Unclassified UU NSN 7540-01-280-5500 Standard Form 298 (Rev. 2-89) Prescribed by ANSI Std. 239-18 i THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK ii Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited EXPLAINING THE UNITED STATES-ISRAEL RELATIONSHIP Kira N. Waxer Civilian, Operations Research Department, Naval Postgraduate School B.A., University of the Pacific, 2010 Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS IN SECURITY STUDIES (MID EAST, S ASIA, SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA) from the NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL June 2013 Author: Kira N. Waxer Approved by: James Russell, PhD Thesis Advisor Tristan Mabry, PhD Second Reader Harold Trinkunas, PhD Chair, Department of National Security Affairs iii THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK iv ABSTRACT This thesis examines to what extent International Relations (IR) Realist Theory explains the United States-Israel relationship. It studies the evolution of the United States-Israel relationship through the Cold War and post-Cold War period to analyze how it has developed to the one these two countries share today. The United States gives Israel robust economic, military and diplomatic support. This thesis argues that the benefits that the United States receives outweigh the costs of the relationship, and that supporting Israel helps achieve the United States’ national interests of preserving stability and access to oil in the region. v THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK vi TABLE OF CONTENTS I. INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................1 A. MAJOR RESEARCH QUESTION................................................................1 B. IMPORTANCE ................................................................................................1 II. RELATIONS BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND ISRAEL DURING THE COLD WAR ........................................................................................................3 A. RELATIONS DURING THE COLD WAR (1948–1991) ............................3 B. RELATIONS BETWEEN 1948–1967 ............................................................3 C. RELATIONS BETWEEN 1967–1973 ............................................................5 D. RELATIONS BETWEEN 1973–1979 ............................................................8 E. RELATIONS BETWEEN 1979–1991 ..........................................................10 F. CONCLUSION ..............................................................................................15 III. RELATIONS BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND ISRAEL IN THE POST-COLD WAR PERIOD ...................................................................................17 A. GEORGE H. W. BUSH: 1989–1993 .............................................................17 B. BILL CLINTON: 1993–2001 ........................................................................21 C. GEORGE W. BUSH: 2001–2009 ..................................................................23 D. BARACK OBAMA: 2009–PRESENT .........................................................25 E. CONCLUSION ..............................................................................................27 IV. COST-BENEFIT ANALYSIS OF UNITED STATES-ISRAEL RELATIONS ..29 A. BACKGROUND: WHAT DOES THE UNITED STATES PROVIDE TO ISRAEL ....................................................................................................29 1. Economic Aid .....................................................................................29 2. Military Aid ........................................................................................30 3. Diplomatic Support ............................................................................31 B. UNITED STATES INTERESTS IN THE MIDDLE EAST ......................32 C. BENEFITS ......................................................................................................33 1. Stability and Oil .................................................................................33 2. Peace ....................................................................................................35 3. “Hard” Security Issues ......................................................................37 a. Military Cooperation ...............................................................37 b. Defense-Industrial Cooperation .............................................38 c. Homeland Security ..................................................................38 4. “Soft” Security Issues ........................................................................39 a. Economic Revitalization .........................................................39 b. Cyber/Information Technology ..............................................40 c. Renewable Energy Sources ....................................................41 5. Stable Democracy with Similar Interests ........................................41 6. Summary of Benefits..........................................................................42 D. COSTS ............................................................................................................43 1. Anti-Americanism/Terrorism ...........................................................43 a. Diverse Sources of Anti-Americanism ...................................45 vii b. Arab States Relations: Zero-Sum Game? ..............................46 2. Allies ....................................................................................................48 E. CONCLUSION ..............................................................................................48 V. CONCLUSION ..........................................................................................................51 LIST OF REFERENCES ......................................................................................................59 INITIAL DISTRIBUTION LIST .........................................................................................63 viii LIST OF ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS AMRAAM Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles BARD Binational Agricultural Research and Development BIRD Binational Industrial Research and Development BPI Boost Phase Intercept BSF Binational Science Foundation DPAG Defense Policy Advisory Group EUCOM United States European Command ESF Economic Support Funds FMF Foreign Military Financing IDF Israeli