re: #317 Bob Levin

Yes, that was sarcasm up top. The official statement was ultimately an empty remark—no practical content, because as Sacred Plants just said (I think), a Brit could be handing their passport to a spy from another country who has a contact with someone, who has a contact with an Israeli spy. So if you’re traveling abroad, and an official wants to hold your passport for five minutes, what do you do, tackle the guy like it was a rugby match?

Unfortunately, in the world we live in, diplomatically, ‘friends’ is a very vague concept that almost doesn’t exist. There are only moments when two countries share the same interest on a specific issue or event.

Nixon felt that Israel was the best line of defense against a creeping Soviet influence in the region, which threatened waterways, and the governments of oil producing nations friendly to the US. If Israel invents and holds patents on an engine that doesn’t produce carbon emissions, and runs on something other than petroleum products, the political life of the planet will be much different.

The word “friends” usually means “business associates” to me, at least regarding the Arab world. And you’re friendly with your business associates, yes? Cordial enough. Israel and the Europeans are more than that or should be.

Thanks for expanding upon Nixon :)