Could Israel exist without US aid?

[TriskettheKid]

How are the two statements I bolded not in contradiction?

I still see this explanation as a vicious circle--we give aid to Israel for one reason: Egypt; and we give aid to Egypt for one reason: Israel.

Motive. You suggest Egypt gets money simply because Israel gets money.

Based on the timelines of the peace deal, I see it more as Egypt getting money in order to stop attacking Israel. In order to get Egypt to agree to this, they get a comparable amount to Israel.

Good question. I suspect it's a similar percentage of their budget. While the population of Egypt is about 10 times that of Israel, their GDP is a little bit smaller.

And it's one I'd like answered.

There could be a whole host of political problems if Egypt needs the money and Israel doesn't, possibly greater implications that those surrounding the money Israel gets.

I don't see how. If our aid to Israel is meant to deter war (the term I always hear is "stabilize the region"), then mentioning the "covert" nuke program (our ignoring of it can surely be seen as non-monetary aid) whose purpose is also to deter war seems legitimate.

There seems to be some confusion here. You're focusing on Israel's development of nuclear arms, whereas I was focusing on the issue of other nation's in the area getting them.

I maintain the nukes Israel developed are part of a greater deterrent on the whole, and not just to deter war with Egypt. The reason we're against others in the region getting them is, I think, a fairly simple one: potential use.

Imagine what would happen if, say, Lebanon had developed nukes. Would Hezbollah aquire them, and would they hesitate to use them? Or take Iran. What would happen if those in charge develop nukes. Would they care about using them? Would they fire them off at a neighboring Sunni country? Would they pass them off to the highest bidder? Attempt to smuggle them to a terrorist group who's not going to think twice about using them?

Pardon the hypotheticals, but I'm just trying to point out what I meant when I said that the issue at hand was a different can of worms.