The United States went to war against Saddam Hussein's Iraq on the pretext that Saddam was attempting to produce nuclear weapons. However, when Middle East security problems are discussed in United States policy circles, little mention is ever made of Israel's secret nuclear arsenal. Experts estimate that Israel has an arsenal of 200 or more nuclear warheads. The US has insisted that dozen of states sign the 1968 Non-Proliferation Treaty, but Israel has not. The Kennedy Administration wanted to restrain Israel's nuclear ambitions in the early 60's and attempted to monitor Israel's development efforts with tours of nuclear facilities, but Israel did not cooperate and actively obstructed these efforts in a way reminiscent of Iran's current foot dragging. The Kennedy administration was reluctant to confront Israel on the issue. When CIA Director Richard Helms informed President Johnson that Israel had developed nuclear capability in 1968, his response was to ask Helms to bury the intelligence in his agency. Johnson clearly had no intention of trying to stop Israel from getting the bomb. Israel also has an active chemical and biological weapons program, and has yet to ratify the Chemical or Biological Weapons Convention. Similarly, the US has turned a blind eye to this capability. But inconsistent policy positions has not deterred the current administration from threatening to attack Iran for attempting to develop a nuclear capability, despite the obvious incentive for Iran to balance power in the region.Israel has received $154 billion (2005) in direct economic and military assistance from the US since its founding in 1948, far more than any other state. Much of that was in the form of grants. Israel is the only nation that does not have to account to the US for how the economic aid is spent. Currently Israel is receiving $3billion a year in aid, about 75% of which is military assistance. The US has subsidized Israel's successful economic development and military preeminence in the region. In return for this generous and largely unconditional subsidy Israeli leaders have felt free to ignore American foreign policy positions. Israel has continued building West Bank settlements, used US supplied cluster bombs on Lebanon contrary to agreement and annexed Syria's Golan Heights. The fact of this overwhelming American bias towards Israel that infuriates some Arab leaders, and makes facilitating peace negotiations between Israel and its Muslim neighbors so difficult.
[source: The Israel Lobby & US Foreign Policy ]