A look at how big powers use proxy wars to fight without sending their own troops — framed as a cynical but enduring strategy, with Israel cast as America's main proxy in the Middle East.

• The world's top power avoids fighting directly because war is expensive and unpopular at home.
• Instead it backs a regional ally with weapons, money, and political cover, and that ally does the messy fighting.
• Britain ran this playbook as the global cop from 1815 to 1914, at war nearly the whole time through proxies.
• The US inherited the model, sending Israel billions in military aid and shielding it at the UN in exchange for advancing American interests in the region.
• This setup feeds a "forever war" cycle, because constant conflict always creates a chance to profit.

Outlook: As long as the proxy model pays off, expect the US to keep funding allies to fight regional wars rather than intervene directly.