>>24688629
>The aid isn't a "drain." It's an investment. It's the operating budget for an offshore military base and, more importantly, a live-fire R&D lab. The occupation of Palestine is the perfect testing ground for the surveillance tech, crowd control weapons, and drone systems that American and Israeli arms dealers then sell for a massive profit globally.
i.e.
https://youtu.be/DajQIB6rlCs

Even more than that. I've done some freelance writing about the defense industry and seen some demonstrations up close, and people don't really grasp how integrated it is with Israeli tech as a whole system of production. Look up some Israeli defense companies and look at where they have offices, and now look up American defense companies (say, Kratos, which is an interesting one) and see where they have offices, and you'll also find Israel. There are a lot of things people don't normally think about, like a sensor that goes on an aircraft, or a mechanical system, which can be Israeli. They really tried building up their own defense industry from the beginning and carved out a niche selling Western-style gear at lower prices (because of lower labor costs) to all kinds of crazy countries during the Cold War.

>The entire "is Israel good for America?" debate is a mystification. The arrangement isn't good for the American working class, but it is immensely profitable and strategically indispensable for the ruling class that actually runs this country.
People talk a lot about lobbying by AIPAC, and they should, but it pales in comparison to the defense industry. The other thing to consider is that this involves a lot of jobs (manufacturing and engineering jobs at that) spread out across many congressional districts. You can find many Americans who don't like Israel or the U.S. relationship with it, but now tell them to cut defense spending and watch those jobs go away. You can certainly make that argument but it's politically difficult for politicians. People also ignore that U.S. aid to Israel acts as an indirect subsidy to these defense corporations and keeps production lines humming. The old line about how "war, what is it good for? Absolutely nothing" isn't strictly accurate, it's good for certain people and these industries.

>>24689640
>I like the Druze but anyone who thinks a Jew sees him as anything other than convenient chattel is unwise.
Druze are pretty pragmatic and they go with the power in their area as a survival strategy. Here's an Israeli Druze guy who has a hardball-world / "peace through superior firepower" sort of perspective.
https://youtu.be/HPi0EkEO_hY