Analysts of American strategy such as John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt have demolished the "bulwark" argument. It doesn't make sense.

The American interest in the Middle East is the Persian Gulf oil. Israel is 1,000 miles away from the Persian Gulf and is extremely reluctant to deploy any troops beyond its borders.

Additionally the Persian Gulf is full of countries which are totally dependent on the US to maintain their regimes, such as Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, and Kuwait. These countries are willing to host US bases so that an American military presence can be right "on top" of the oil.

The idea that Israel is a totally necessary component for Gulf security, to the point where the US needs to grant it billions in aid each year, unconditionally, and support it politically at the UN and in other contexts, is not supported by facts.

In fact, the only risk to US presence in the Gulf is the totally corrosive nature of Israel in Middle East politics, making its presence visible and hated by the local populations. Saudi Arabia and others would be much more collaborative with the US IF NOT for Israel.