World is Falling Apart Thread (Locked forever)

[Flake]

Israel is our friend.

Are they really? What do we get out of our "friendship" with Israel that would be worth instigating WWIII? Should we really be friendly with a theocratic state that knowingly commits war crimes?
Is there a reason we care more about the people of Israel than we do the people of Syria or we did the people of Sudan?

For the most part, Israel is our friend for strategic reasons. Having an ally in that specific part of the world is a boon to us.

[Hatta]

Israel is not my friend. Neither is Iran. Given that fact, I could really give a fuck what happens to either of them as long as I am not involved. Let them blow each other to pieces if that's what they want to do.

Any argument you can use to support the US helping Israel, the Chinese could use to support helping Iran. In that case, we don't just have an Iran vs Israel problem anymore. We have the US vs China. That's a much bigger fight, where a lot more people will die. All because you felt you had to be loyal to your friend.

This is why loyalty is not a virtue.

Edit: This is exactly how feuds get started. Two people have a disagreement and fight. One loses and goes to get his friend, so the other gets his friend too. Now 4 people are fighting, and they all bring their friends in, and so on... People need to mind their own business, and if your friends are getting you into trouble, you need to reconsider who your friends are.

[Flake]

Any argument you can use to support the US helping Israel, the Chinese could use to support helping Iran.

Now you get it! That's exactly what is going on. In terms of the relationship between states, "friends" only offer each other two things: Economic opportunity and strategic alliance.

In this age of deterrence, conventional warfare is largely impossible. The true tensions between super powers are played out through our allies - proxy warfare. This is the story of the world since 1949, when the Russians first developed their own atomic bomb. The players change but the game stays the same.

[MrPopo]

This is why loyalty is not a virtue.
...
People need to mind their own business, and if your friends are getting you into trouble, you need to reconsider who your friends are.

So by your logic no one should be your friend because you get in trouble for smoking pot, or would get in trouble if you weren't so good at hiding it.

[ZeroAX]

For the most part, Israel is our friend for strategic reasons. Having an ally in that specific part of the world is a boon to us.

I was always curious what use Israel's position is for the US, which couldn't be covered by Turkey and Cyprus.

[BoringSupreez]

People need to mind their own business, and if your friends are getting you into trouble, you need to reconsider who your friends are.

But Israel is not the one at fault here!

For the most part, Israel is our friend for strategic reasons. Having an ally in that specific part of the world is a boon to us.

I was always curious what use Israel's position is for the US, which couldn't be covered by Turkey and Cyprus.

We have a large Jewish population, which is naturally sympathetic to Israel. It's in our leader's best interests to ally with Israel if they want to stay in office. Besides, what's wrong with coming to the aid of a nation that's constantly bullied by it's neighbors? We did it for Kuwait, after all.

[ZeroAX]

We have a large Jewish population, which is naturally sympathetic to Israel. It's in our leader's best interests to ally with Israel if they want to stay in office. Besides, what's wrong with coming to the aid of a nation that's constantly bullied by it's neighbors? We did it for Kuwait, after all.

um....Israel bullied by its neighbors? .......yeah.....let's try taking Missouri and giving it to Muslims, I'm sure it will go well.

EDIT

And I'm sorry, I thought we left politics based on religion in the middle ages...

[Hatta]

So by your logic no one should be your friend because you get in trouble for smoking pot, or would get in trouble if you weren't so good at hiding it.

A better analogy would be if I was constantly getting into bar fights, and expecting my friends to put themselves at risk to help me.

[Flake]

For the most part, Israel is our friend for strategic reasons. Having an ally in that specific part of the world is a boon to us.

I was always curious what use Israel's position is for the US, which couldn't be covered by Turkey and Cyprus.

Israel is more reliable than Turkey for a few reasons.

This is going to sound kinda nuts but one benefit we have because of Israel is that they simply exist right where they are. A lot of the threats we face are easier to anticipate and deflect in part because we can expect Israel to bear the brunt of it. The opportunity cost of traveling to the Gaza strip to start trouble is far lower than getting to the continental US.

[MrPopo]

So by your logic no one should be your friend because you get in trouble for smoking pot, or would get in trouble if you weren't so good at hiding it.

A better analogy would be if I was constantly getting into bar fights, and expecting my friends to put themselves at risk to help me.

A better analogy would be if people were constantly starting bar fights with you because you were different from the other people in the bar and expecting your friends to help you buy new clothes after you finish taking care of business.