NonilexAn agreement is not a contract. NATO is a treaty [The North Atlantic Treaty Organization] a treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement governed by & enforceable under international law.
The most recent signed agreement between the #UnitedStates & #Israel, the Strategic Cooperation Agreement, was in 1981 under Reagan. The agreement took the form of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and was an act of the executive branch not subject to Senate ratification. Therefore, it was not a treaty, which requires Senate ratification. Formally, it did not constitute an official alliance.
It does not carry the weight of a #legal commitment to declare or enter a war on #Israel’s side in the sense envisioned by the #US #Constitution.
When the US granted Israel the status of major non-NATO ally #MNNA in 1987, it ONLY enabled Israel to compete equally w/ #NATO & other US allies for contracts & purchase advanced US weapons systems.
arceuthobium@Nonilex @RoundSparrow NATO countries and others like Japan are allies because the relevant parties have committed themselves to mutual defense if attacked.
Israel is a US ally because Congress stipulated it to be so. Israel has never committed itself to help defend any other country, and never will.
Israel is a US ally because Congress stipulated it to be so. Israel has never committed itself to help defend any other country, and never will.