The link to the article can be found here.
Unit 5
The alliance between Israel and the United States has gone on since the the late 40's. The U.S. has always given support to the Israeli State and its leaders. On Saturday, today, the former Prime Minister of Israel, Ariel Sharon, passed away. He wasn't the current Prime Minister of Israel at his death, though, he was a great leader while in office. He served from 2001-2006 as Prime Minister. Sharon's political career was suddenly ended due to a fatal stroke that kept him in a coma-like state until his death. His condition got better over the years, but his time was done. President Obama gave his condolences to Sharon's family and the people of Israel. Many politicians, both U.S. and Israeli, commented on the passion he had for the Israeli State. He will be remembered as a great leader, warrior, and idealist of the State of Israel.
While reading this article, I thought about some things regarding foreign policy. I remembered learning about how the United States pledged its loyalty Israel in AP U.S. and how that affected the world we live in today. I think it is interesting that one move, call it good or bad, can dig a hole so deep that it becomes almost impossible to get out of. The move to help Israel and support them was a reasonable decision, but it makes me think where we might be if that decision wouldn't have been so strictly made.
I wonder what wars might have been avoided and how the relations in the Middle East might have been different if we had chosen not to take a strong ally-related stance with Israel. It's possible that making a loose decision on who our allies in the Middle East are might have caused more harm than not. I understand foreign policy is a very hard issue to deal with, but I hope the White House has learned from its mistakes; history is supposed to be something we learn from. All we can do now is move forward and try to make better stances on what we think of countries and the peoples of the world.
I agree with your comment about alliances. I believe it applies to a broader stance though, as well as applies to the enemies that we create as well. However, I think that it is not as deep of a hole as we might think. There are many ways of digging ourselves out if we only put in the effort. For instance, there was a time that we were enemies with Great Britain. Obviously, that has changed. This is why we have diplomats to make sure that good relations stay good relations. And bad relations become good relations.
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