Gates omits Israel from the list of the United States' main allies

Meanwhile, in another document bearing his signature that is due to be published soon, the 2008 National Defense Strategy, Gates omits Israel from the list of the United States' main allies.

The National Defense Strategy is an official document that reflects the secretary's directives to the armed forces. It replaces the version issued in 2005 by Gates' predecessor, Donald Rumsfeld. Although Gates signed off on the document about a month ago, it has yet to be published officially; however, a copy appears on the Inside Defense Web site.

[snip]

However, he also used the document to discuss America's allies.

"Our closest allies - the U.K., Australia, and Canada. Other long standing alliances NATO, Japan and South Korea foremost among them. We will work to expand and strengthen other relationships, including with India," the document states.

But Israel, which has been listed in other documents as an important U.S. ally, does not appear in this document at all.

LINK:

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1005910.html