AMBASSADOR (RET.) YORAM ETTINGER -- Michael Jordan is the "showroom" for Nike. Israel is the showroom for US defense industries. Can someone tell this to the Tuckerites?
While Michael Jordan is Nike’s showroom, transforming Nike into a multi-billion-dollar global lifestyle brand, Israel has been the leading showroom and a mega-billion-dollar real time battle-tested laboratory and much more for the US defense and aerospace industries, Air Force, intelligence community, counter-terrorism, ground and navy special operations, urban and tunnel warfare, drones, air defenses, medical corps, etc.
Israel’s uniquely intense use of advanced US military systems has enhanced the capabilities of these systems. In addition, it has exposed the vulnerabilities of Chinese and Russian military systems, which are deployed throughout the globe; thus, tilting the global balance of power in favor of the US, and highlighting the superiority of US military systems in the global market.
This has yielded mega billions of dollars of US exports, expanding the US employment base (2.5 million people employed by the US defense and aerospace industries), generating billions of dollars of corporate and individual income tax revenues, while serving as the leading battle tactics and training innovation center for the US Armed Forces (e.g., maneuvering combat aircraft, overhauling engines of combat aircraft, facing car bombs, suicide bombers and IEDs, hostage rescue, precision raids).