[wrong] Words attributed to Alexander Haig “Israel is the largest U.S. aircraft carrier” — 1982

Apocryphal or wrong quotation or doubtful.

Author :
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Israel is the largest U.S. aircraft carrier, which does not require American soldiers on board, cannot be sunk and is deployed in a most critical region—between Europe-Asia-Africa and between the Mediterranean-Red Sea-Indian Ocean-Persian Gulf—sparing the U.S. the need to manufacture, deploy and maintain a few more real aircraft carriers and additional ground divisions, which would cost the U.S. taxpayer some $15 billion annually.

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The first instance of this quote appeared 23 years after the alleged event. It was a shortened version, found in an article in The Ettinger Report titled “US-Israel Saga,” which states that Alexander Haig reportedly declared, “I am pro-Israel because Israel constitutes the largest U.S. aircraft carrier that cannot be sunk, does not carry even one U.S. soldier, and is located in a region of critical importance to U.S. national security.” (1) This quote, like the numerous repetitions and embellishments that followed it, provided neither a date nor specific circumstances. Yoram Ettinger (born in 1945), an Israeli best known for his claim that the Palestinian population was overestimated by two million, had a career as a diplomatic influencer in the U.S. The fabrication of this quote was intended to reinforce the argument that Israel is a valuable asset to U.S. interests. The idea, however, was not original; as early as 1980, Stephen Bryen, then executive director of the pro-Israel neoconservative lobby group JINSA, had already written, “Israel can be a substitute aircraft carrier—one that cannot be sunk” (2). Thanks to R.B. for debunking this quote.
(1) https://theettingerreport.com/the-us-israel-saga-a-win-win-relationship/  
(2) US Congressionnal Proceedings, 18 mars 1980. Lien 

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