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Counting the costs of a very special friendship

By Mark Mawozer, Financial Times
Published: Apr 14, 2004

The only special relationship that matters these days is the one between the United States and Israel. The US refusal - so out of step with the rest of international opinion - to condemn Israel's killing of Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, the Hamas leader, is the latest indication that the two countries have moved ever closer together.

One might trace the history of this partnership as far back as the birth of Israel, when President Harry Truman's support helped to bring a Jewish state into existence. But the Middle East was a side-show for Washington in the early years of the cold war. Moreover, the struggle against communism and the growing ambitions of American oil corporations kept the US alert to Arab sensibilities. Truman made David Ben Gurion withdraw Israeli troops from Sinai in late 1948, while, following Suez, as relations between the two states reached an all-time low, President Dwight Eisenhower threatened sanctions to get Israel to pull back from Egypt.


Search

FT.com SearchClick here for your how-to guide to searching FT.com

Counting the costs of a very special friendship

By Mark Mawozer, Financial Times
Published: Apr 14, 2004

The only special relationship that matters these days is the one between the United States and Israel. The US refusal - so out of step with the rest of international opinion - to condemn Israel's killing of Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, the Hamas leader, is the latest indication that the two countries have moved ever closer together.

One might trace the history of this partnership as far back as the birth of Israel, when President Harry Truman's support helped to bring a Jewish state into existence. But the Middle East was a side-show for Washington in the early years of the cold war. Moreover, the struggle against communism and the growing ambitions of American oil corporations kept the US alert to Arab sensibilities. Truman made David Ben Gurion withdraw Israeli troops from Sinai in late 1948, while, following Suez, as relations between the two states reached an all-time low, President Dwight Eisenhower threatened sanctions to get Israel to pull back from Egypt.


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