What is a ‘great ally’?

 What is a ‘great ally’?

With 2 immense oceans between the US and most of the world, America really doesn’t need allies, even great ones.

In my 79 years, the only great ally I can point out is Russia during WWII. It coughed up 26 million souls to destroy millions of Nazis on the Eastern Front, allowing America and its not-so-great allies to defeat Hitlerism. Those lessor allies, Britain, China, Canada among others, provided nowhere near the support Joe Stalin gave us in Russian blood. Uncle Sam’s thanks? He wrote Russia out of his false narrative it was only America’s greatest generation that won the war.

I ponder that question when I hear everyone from President Biden down to the least senior congressperson gush endlessly how Israel is our great ally, even more hyperbolically, our greatest ally.

But I did come up with 2 possible explanations for the great ally label.

First, Israel keeps our munitions plants and our economy humming by purchasing our planes and bombs and bullets used currently to destroy life for 2.3 million Palestinians in Gaza. Oops. I mean they use the $3.8 billion in free money American gives Israel every year, not Israeli money. Actually, Uncle buys the war stuff and essentially gives it to Israel. What a sweet deal. That $3.8 billion is not enough for President Biden. He’s demanding $14 billion more right now to help Israel finish off Gaza.

Second, Israel remains the only country of 193 UN members that votes with America against the annual UN resolution to end America’s 62 yearlong economic embargo of Cuba. It’s designed to make life miserable enough to goad the Cuban people to overthrow their socialist government. The vote last Thursday in the 31st such annual resolution to stop violating international law and the UN Charter, was the most lopsided of all 31, breaking last year’s nadir of 2 against (US and Israel) and 2 abstaining (Ukraine and Brazil).

I don’t see how helping to goose our weapons economy and voting to maintain our 7 decade breaking of international law against Cuba, constitute being either a great or greatest ally.

My view is a great ally works in cooperation with America to end the ethnic cleansing of Gaza and create a peaceful 2 state solution in the region. Tho my time is growing short, I remain hopeful that one day Israel will become the great ally they can.

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5Tony Hillman, Jim Tranchida and 3 others