US Aid to Israel: The Premise, the Price

FOR four decades the American colossus and the tiny dynamo of the Middle East -- Israel -- have sustained a relationship apparently unique in the history of nations. Built on common values and strategic interests, American dollars, and a powerful pro-Israel lobby, the partnership endures despite recent tests -- and appears likely to do so in the foreseeable future. Monitor staff writers George Moffett III and Peter Ford examine the roots of the relationship, the goals and forces that have sustained it, and current gains and strains as Israel prepares to ask for $10 billion in loan guarantees from the United States.

A six-part series begins today on Page 6.