There are a lot of expressions about standing up to bullies being the best policy. Unfortunately the White House has difficulty in following that sound advice when it comes to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his governing coalition of racists and thugs. And one might also add that the reticence also applies to dealing with Israel's many friends in Congress, some of whom have apparently extorted their pound of flesh in exchange for their votes on the Iran deal.

Israel is already the military colossus in the Middle East, with formidable high tech ground, sea and air forces backed up by a semi-secret nuclear arsenal with modern delivery systems and several defensive missile system referred to as Iron Dome, Arrow 4 and David Sling. The defense systems were developed and deployed using $3 billion of U.S. Treasury special "grants" while roughly 20% of Israel's annual total defense budget comes directly from the American taxpayer. This is all justified on the basis of sustaining Israel's "Qualitative Military Edge," an expression that has its own acronym QME and that is much loved by America's national legislators, the White House and the media. In reality, Israel possesses an enormous military superiority relative to all its neighbors combined and has benefited from that capability for many years, all thanks to the United States of America.