Israel does not tell us to "fall in line". Israel, like every sovereign nation, has a right to self defense. As a part of that self-defense, she has equipped herself with nuclear weapons.
Israel does not blackmail us with those nukes. The simple fact is that everyone know that the destruction of Israel will likely mean a nuclear strike on the richest deposits of oil on earth. Contaminated oil is not in the USA's interest. So it's not blackmail that empowers this relationship, it is mutual self interest. The Arab states are the aggressors, have been for 50 years. The USA knows that Israel is afraid of being overrun, and knows that if she is overrun it will be bad for us. So, we protect her with a little money and some diplomacy to keep that oil flowing.
Note that Egypt gets 2/3rd of what Israel gets, which only goes to prove that the purpose of our relationship is stability and nothing else. All sides have enough power to destroy each other, which we hope is just enough to prevent either side from actually trying.
The words are Old Whigs. I was replying to him. Since everyone seemed out to dinner I was playing a sort of mind game based on his what-if scenario. It was pretty silly as I said several times.
Do you always think that people who disagree with you are paranoid, unhealthy and unable to see clearly?