"West Germany" may have begun its postwar life as an American annex, but it has clearly evolved towards a state of semi-independence, especially economically. Quasi-protectorate remnants remain, although its not clear what the remaining US troops are "protecting" in Germany (it is clear in Okinawa).
Israel has move in the opposite direction, becoming the "Israel" I refer to today. "Watchdog" is no longer accurate after the 1973 defeat, and especially after Lebanon and the first Intifada, when Washington began to see it not as a "watchdog", but as a net liability (that could change should Pontius Pilate permit the cleansing of the Palestinians west of the Jordan river - a good reason of Empire for "making it happen"). Simply "dumping it" (certainly always a possibility - were dealing with Americans, after all) would - an still will - a furious factional bloodletting within the American ruling class, to the point, perhaps, of endangering the stability of the political regime. So it has been pretty much unthinkable. Meanwhile, tighter political and economic integration with the Empire has acted to counterbalance this geopolitical deficit.
-Brad Mayer
At 12:41 PM 8/2/01 -0700, joanna bujes wrote:
>The independent state of Israel would like to permanently base some
>Israeli fighter jets in the US. I note in passing that the only other
>country that has planes permanently based in the US is Germany.
>
>The following was published in today's Haaretz.
>
>Joanna B.
>
>___________________________________________________
>
>WASHINGTON - Israel has asked the United States to permanently base some
>Israeli
> fighter jets at a U.S. Air Force base in America for combat training of
> Israeli pilots, officials
> of the two countries said Wednesday.
>
>They told Reuters that Washington was considering the request to station a
>contingent of
> Israeli jets at a U.S. base but that no decision had been made.
>
>Such an agreement would be another sign of long and close military
>cooperation between
> the U.S. and Israel. Germany has a contingent of its fighter jets based
> at Holloman Air
> Force Base in New Mexico and rotates pilots there for training. Other
> U.S. allies, including
> Canada and Britain, periodically send warplanes to the United States for
> exercises and
> pilot training.
>
> The Israeli request is for a permanent presence, such as the Germans
> have had at
> Holloman, in which pilots would be sent to join aircraft, according to
> U.S. and Israeli
> officials.
>
> Israel Radio reported Thursday that Israeli officials said the reason
> for the request was
> the extremely limited air-space in which Israel's pilots have to train.
>
> "We have received a request and it is under consideration," Pentagon
> spokesman Bryan
> Whitman said in response to questions about the Israeli basing, which
> was first reported
> by Jane's Defense Weekly.
>
> "There has been a request," said Israeli Embassy spokesman Mark Regev.
> "Israel is a very
>small country geographically, as small as some of the smaller American
>states, and for
> training purposes it would be most useful to have an opportunity to do
> that together with
> the U.S. military in the United States," Regev told Reuters.
>