Israelis potential berserkers?

Scott McConnell is a writer with solid conservative credentials. I was surprised therefore at his balanced and generally accurate piece on US-Israel relations, which refrains from offering the usual specious Neo-Con arguments for maintaining this appalling "special relationship." (http://www.mepc.org/journal/middle-east-policy-archives/special-relationship-israel).

The piece is too long to summarize here, but I took note of a curious argument towards the end. Of course the US tilt towards Israel is conditioned by our domestic politics, McConnell acknowledges. But he says that there is a deeper reason, which he asserts is widely held in elite foreign policy circles. The argument goes like this. If the US were to abandon Israel, that country would become unhinged, striking out against all of its neighbors. The nuclear arsenal (that Don't Ask, Don't Tell subject) would be fully deployed.

This is the argument of a manipulative teenager. "Hey, mom and dad, you've got to buy me that new car I want. Do it pronto! Otherwise, I'll go crazy and shoot up the high school."

Isn't this kind of thing just simply blackmail?