Israel, Iran name checks illustrate US obsessions

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Jason Reed / Reuters, fileRepublican presidential candidate Mitt Romney meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem on July 29. The two men are friends from three decades back when they worked together at the Boston Consulting Group.By John Ray, NBC NewsNews analysis

TEL AVIV, Israel -- In a season dominated by opinion poll numbers, here's another telling figure: 34.

That was the number of times Israel was mentioned in the final debate between Mitt Romney and President Barack Obama.  Iran recieved a more frequent name check but that was often in association with Israel. All-in-all, it added up to a pretty accurate gauge of the United States' foreign policy obsessions.

Clearly Israel is still the center of the American world – exactly where a country on the receiving end of $3 billion of military aid annually likes to be.  And at the crux of the Israel-United States' relationship, and presidential race, is what Washington would do if Israel attacked Iran's nuclear program.

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