Israel is what it is for several reasons, and you are thinking about the oil issue entirely wrong. The region as a whole accounts for a huge percentage of the worlds oil supply (in production) and as we all know the USA is the biggest consumer. So you bet Israel is a big boy on the world map for severalr reasons, here they are an order that makes some sense to me:

1. Oil. Energy, you bet. Of course Israel is not the supplier, but they are our link to the region as a whole. Without Israel there is no strong ally in the region and our presence is weakended big time. Don't name some country like Kuwait as an ally. Yes, they are, but most if not all of the arab nations go in and out of favor with the US. Look at Iran and Iraq.

2. Nuclear power. They are not a huge country, but they are a nuclear power.

3. Single Jewsish nation. Name one other Jewish nation. There are several Christian nations and Muslim nations.

4. Continous violence. The conflict with the Palestinians and other arab nations through time (Egypt, Syria, Jordan) is one of the most visable accross the globe. It spreads to the entire region in terms of tension and full scale war has happenned before.

5. Pretty powerful conventional military and superb intelligence. Israel is notorious for some of the best, if not the best (ok our satellites make is number 1) intelligence gathering nations.

So there are rational reasons that Israel gets a lot of press. Any biblical stories I would recommend to take with a grain of salt, just in case you don't already. The Bible is a great book, whether it is fiction or non-fiction is another story. I would argue there are historical facts in the bible and some figures probably existed, but that is about it. Broad prophecies seem to be self fullfilling and all the magic stories get annoying.

HD

• "No oil" in Israel true, but misleading - johnpowell - April 8, 2001 - 17:48 UTC