US ROLE IN ENSURING ISRAEL'S MILITARY SUPERIORITY IN THE MIDDLE EAST DMITRY DEGTEREV Candidate of Economic Sciences E. A. STEPKIN MGIMO (U) of the Russian Foreign Ministry USA Keywords:, Israel, concept of "Qualitative military superiority", Middle East, military assistance The motivations that encourage donor countries to provide assistance to their foreign partners are very diverse: for example, creating a security belt along the perimeter of national borders, deterring a global competitor, or accessing natural resources.1 In the current situation in the world, and especially in the Middle East, the US-Israeli alliance is of particular interest. Today, perhaps, there is no closer political and strategic alliance than the US-Israel partnership. US Assistant Secretary of State for Political and Military Affairs E. Shapiro said of him:"...Today, with budget constraints more limited than ever, some are asking why we should continue to provide aid to Israel... To such skepticism, I can answer directly - we do not support Israel because of long-standing, historically established ties. We support Israel because it is our national interest to do so."2 No less eloquent than Shapiro's statement is the figures: since 1948, the United States has provided $115 billion to Israel in one form or another. 3 Today, Israel receives 60% of the total volume of all US military assistance programs to foreign countries; up to 22% of the Jewish state's military budget is formed at the expense of the United States; it is the second largest state in the world. the largest recipient of U.S. international aid (after Afghanistan). THE US TAKES THE PLACE OF FRANCE However, the US has not always been Israel's biggest donor. There are two stages in U.S.-Israeli relations: from 1948 to 1970, there was a period of low aid volumes, and from 1971, a period of high aid volumes began. For the first two decades after the establishment of the State of Israel, its relations with Washington were formal. Th ... Read more