By Qamar Bashir
In a political interview that will be studied for years, Senator Ted Cruz—a close confidant of President Donald J. Trump and one of the most prominent Republican voices in Congress—sat down with Tucker Carlson and offered a candid window into the uncomfortable reality of U.S.-Israel relations. His words, wrapped in rationalizations and ideological talking points, confirmed what critics have long warned: the United States is no longer a sovereign actor in the Middle East, but a subordinate executing the will of Israel through lobbying networks like American Israel Pbulic Affair Committee (AIPAC) covert intelligence alignments, and religious manipulation.
Carlson’s questions were pointed. His tone was incredulous. “Do they [Israel] spy domestically in the United States?” he asked. Ted Cruz replied, without hesitation, “Oh, they probably do—and we do as well… Friends and allies spy on each other.” Rather than condemning the breach of national sovereignty, Ted leaned on ideological dogma: “One of the things about being a conservative is you’re not naive… Every one of our friends spies on us.”
But this was no ordinary espionage. Carlson pressed harder: “Including on the President?” Ted did not flinch. “They’re going to anyway,” he said. “I’m not mad at them.” This was not a defense—it was a surrender.
This tacit approval of foreign surveillance on American soil, targeting even the Commander-in-Chief, is a staggering admission. It confirms the deep entrenchment of Mossad within American political and security institutions. From the 1980s Jonathan Pollard case—where a U.S. Navy analyst passed classified secrets to Israel—to the discovery of Israeli surveillance devices near the White House in 2019, the pattern is clear. Israel not only spies on the United States—it does so with impunity, and American lawmakers, far from resisting, justify it.
In Ted’s worldview, this espionage is outweighed by the benefits of the alliance. “It is in America’s interest to be closely allied with Israel,” he claimed, “because we get huge benefits from it.” But that rationale dissolves under scrutiny.
The “benefits” come at a staggering cost. According to the Congressional Research Service, Israel has received more than $150 billion in U.S. aid since its founding, with $3.8 billion annually locked in under a 10-year Memorandum of Understanding signed by the Obama administration. These are taxpayer dollars—used to fund Israeli military expansion, missile defense systems like Iron Dome, and intelligence capabilities that now turn inward on America itself.
The results have been catastrophic. Israel championed the Iraq, Lybia, Syria, Lebanon and Afghanistan Wars. These wars resulted in deaths of over 4,500 American soldiers and over $2 trillion in U.S. spending. Israel paid nothing, sent no troops, and bore no consequences—yet emerged strategically stronger with a fractured Iraq off the map.
This cost does not include billions more in indirect subsidies: loan guarantees, joint weapons research, tax-exempt contributions to Israeli causes, and cooperative agreements that flow predominantly one way. Meanwhile, American citizens shoulder the financial burden of wars launched in Israel’s interest and fought under the American flag.
Ted’s framing of Israel and the United States as having “overlapping interests” reveals a dangerous doctrine: that America’s enemies are whoever Israel designates. Under this logic, countries like Iran, Syria, Lebanon, and even critics within Europe are reflexively treated as adversaries—not based on threat assessments, but on Israeli strategic paranoia.
Carlson laid bare the contradiction: U.S. intelligence says Iran is years away from weaponization, yet the Israeli-driven narrative claims it’s only “days.” When Carlson asked if he would oppose Israeli spying or military manipulation, the senator replied flatly: “They’re going to do it anyway.” It was a stunning concession of powerlessness.
Driving this surrender is AIPAC—the American Israel Public Affairs Committee—a lobbying juggernaut that acts less like an interest group and more like a shadow foreign ministry. Ted admitted that AIPAC “raised a lot of money” for him, though he insisted it came from “individuals” not the organization itself—an evasion that fails to obscure the reality. AIPAC cannot legally donate directly, but its donor network ensures that candidates who tow the Israeli line are richly rewarded by ploying back USA aid, while dissenters are crushed.
In 2022 alone, pro-Israel PACs and donors spent over $100 million in U.S. elections. The result is bipartisan paralysis—where Republicans and Democrats alike refuse to criticize Israel, even as it bombs civilian hospitals, targets nuclear scientists, or spies on the U.S. government.
Layered over this political machinery is a spiritual manipulation that binds millions of American Christians to Israel through theological fantasy. According to this belief—promoted by televangelists, Zionist pastors, and AIPAC-sponsored pilgrimages—supporting Israel is a divine mandate, essential for the return of Christ and personal salvation. Ted embraced this religious overlap as a political asset, noting that American Christians see support for Israel not as a geopolitical choice, but as a spiritual obligation.
Carlson, himself a conservative Christian, rebuked this manipulation. “Is it the job of a U.S. senator to represent the interests of a foreign country?” he asked. The silence in response was louder than any denial.
This alliance is not without consequence. The wars waged at Israel’s behest have produced millions of refugees, destabilized entire regions, and eroded U.S. credibility around the world. From Yemen to Afghanistan, the perception is no longer of America as a peace-broker, but as a military enforcer of Israeli policy.
At the United Nations, the United States routinely vetoes resolutions condemning Israel—even when global consensus is near-unanimous. This has alienated allies in Europe, Africa, and Asia. Meanwhile, countries like China, Russia, Turkey, and Brazil step into the diplomatic vacuum, offering an alternative order free from Israeli hegemony.
The most tragic irony is that the costs—financial, moral, and reputational—are borne by the United States. Israel walks away stronger, more emboldened, and free of accountability. It receives billions in aid, shields itself behind American vetoes, and sends lobbyists to Washington to extract more. Meanwhile, American cities crumble, veterans are left homeless, and the middle class bears the tax burden of imperial overreach.
The Iran conflict marks a tipping point. The world watches as the U.S. prepares to bleed again—militarily, diplomatically, and economically—for a war that serves no American interest. It is not just the Middle East at stake—it is the soul of American democracy.
Senator Ted’s confessions, though cloaked in conservative realism, unmask a deeper betrayal. America is not defending a friend—it is financing its manipulator. It is not acting in its interest—it is acting in fear of political reprisal. It is not leading—it is being led.
If the United States is to reclaim its sovereignty, it must reassert control over its foreign policy, disentangle itself from theological fantasies, and end the unchecked power of foreign lobbies operating on Capitol Hill. This is not antisemitism—it is patriotism. It is the duty of a republic to defend its institutions, its people, and its future from external domination—no matter how sacredly disguised.
The question now is whether America has the courage to reclaim its sovereignty, or whether it will continue to play the role of a global enforcer for a foreign master cloaked in the language of friendship.
The time has come for Americans—Democrats, Republicans, Independents—to question whether the alliance with Israel is indeed serving their interests, or whether it is merely serving the interests of a foreign state cloaked in biblical prophecy, financial influence, and political manipulation.
By Qamar Bashir
Press Secretary to the President (Rtd)
Former Press Minister at the Embassy of Pakistan to France
Former MD, SRBC
Macomb, Michigan, USA
