Though tensions in the relationship between the US and Israeli governments rarely get aired in public, there is a general sense in media reporting that difficulties between the two are on the rise, with comments by former Defense Secretary Robert Gates underscoring the seriousness.<\/span><\/p>\n In comments at the National Security Council Principals Committee, former Secretary Gates <\/span>termed the Israeli government an \u201cungrateful ally,\u201d insisting they had offered \u201cnothing in return<\/span><\/strong>\u201d<\/span><\/a> for massive amounts of US aid and high level intel sharing.<\/span><\/p>\n The context of the comments is equally telling, <\/span>coming amid reports of an FBI whistleblower\u2019s <\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/a>attempts to reveal the details of spying on the Israeli embassy. Though the attempted leak failed to go public, it is now revealed that it detailed \u201c<\/span>Israeli officials trying unlawfully to influence US policy and edging toward military action against Iran<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/a>.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Israel\u2019s keenness to start a US war with Iran is hardly a secret, of course, but the fact that it has gone from unspoken truth to newspaper topic speaks volumes, and suggests the \u201cnothing in return\u201d is starting to wear a bit thin.<\/span><\/p>\n