well, we are getting a new mother of all bombs. 10x more powerful than the previous bunker buster. Pentagon eyes accelerated bunker buster bomb | Reuters
Assuming a madman doesn't take control of the Great Jewish State, Israel will never do anything drastic without approval from the major Western powers, of which the USA is the Alpha. And rightfully so. They would be nothing without support from the West. Literally: They wouldn't even exist but for the West.
And there's more in development. The distinction of "nuclear weapon" has lost it's singularity. Weapons of mass destruction/effect are diverse and will create new law of armed conflict challenges. Sooner rather than later.
Sorry John but I think you're dead wrong on that one. Existential and verifiable threats to Israel and Israelis will not require US approval to be dealt with. If they're willing to behave as they have over desert settlements, imagine how visceral their response will be if their very existence is credibly at risk. There's still a lot of pluck in Israeli national defense.
In recent world history, the West created the Great Jewish State of Israel on land that had been owned by the Arabs for several centuries. To keep that Western-created state of Israel alive, the West supplies them with arms. But not for the West, Israel would not exist. To not answer to the West would be the death of Israel. Just look at the Israel Air Force. Who do you think sold them those F-15 Eagle warplanes and F-16 Falcon warplanes? But have we sold them F-22s, F-117s, or B-2s? No. And we are constantly upgrading our F-15s and F-16s... we aren't keeping the Israeli warplanes quite as up-to-date as we keep ours, obviously. Israeli Air Force (IAF) - F-15i Warplanes, :usaflagwaMade in the USA!:usaflagwa "Early American Jews were unremarkable in many ways. They looked and behaved like other colonists: they wore the same clothes, lived in the same types of homes, worried about their children and worked to earn a living, just like other colonists. Their religion and their history were the only differences..." http://www.loeb-tourovisitorscenter.org/jll_jews.shtml
I think he was also referring to the fact that Israel has gone to war with other regional powers at the time and the US has not publicly backed them. Don't think they won't act on their own if they feel their security is threatened. But I do agree with you that the Jewish state would not exist today without support from the West.
Clearly, the US is a big supporter of the Jewish state. My point, as has been pointed out, is that Israel won't let US reluctance keep them from defending themselves if they feel threatened.
