Yours is a rather different viewpoint than mine but that's great for stimulating discussion. I have to disagree with the Chomskian view that Israel is as devoid of leverage over the US as all that. I would argue that to the extent that Israel is useful to certain elements in the US (the oil lobby, which is more internatinal than American) it is essentially like a drug dealer--it is an enabler of a sickness based on the irrational desire for a substance that we could live without. Certainly keeping America addicted to oil is good for Israel, no? And bad for the American people? So I think it's not necessary to go whole hog and say that Israel rules over America, that would be too much. I think the point is that Israel has far too much influence in getting its way and in getting away with crimes against the American people and sovereignty because of the activities of the Lobby. America's irrational support is not based on a real usefulness but on one the perception of which is manufactured through propaganda--i.e. we are made to think that Israel is good for us when it is quite bad, not just for us but for the people it affects in the ME.