Pincus on Aid to Israel

"If Israel can reduce its defense spending because of its domestic economic problems, shouldn’t the United States — which must cut military costs because of its major budget deficit — consider reducing its aid to Israel?"  Walter Pincus

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Amen.  Walter is not a man to mince words.  He is right, of course.  Israel is a prosperous country that is experiencing internal class struggle on the basis of the 1%-99% thing.   They are now receiving  3 billion US dollars a year in grant military aid from the United States.  They invest the money and use the interest to make payments to the US on old un-guaranteed loans from us.  I suppose that if they were guarateed they could just default on them.  No?  They also are allowed by their "friends" in Congress to use 25% of the borrowed money that we give them to buy their own military products.

So, basically, we are a piggy-bank for srael.  pl

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/united-states-needs-to-reevaluate-its-assistance-to-israel/2011/10/15/gIQAK5XksL_story.html

Comments

[jr786]

Actually it means that we have to increase our military aid. As Panetta pointed out on a recent haj to Tel Aviv, the US is committed to maintaining the gutty little zionist state's military superiority. Thus, if the gutty little zionist state should decide to spend its own money on anything else it can and should do so - who are we to question the gutty little zionist state's right to act as any other sovereign state would? In face, it is periously close to anti-semitism to suggest otherwise, I should think.

No, we are here to guarantee its military superiority, no matter what. Next question.

[turcopolier]

All

this is what I received from Typepad on "userpics"

"Hi Patrick,

Thanks for the note.

They would need to have their own TypePad account (this includes free Micro accounts) and then edit their profile here:
http://www.typepad.com/profile/edit

They can use the Browse button to find their own image and upload it.
Then, we they are logged in and commenting, their image will appear.

I hope this helps. Please let us know if there is anything else we can do for you.

Thanks,"

[rjj]

Or if you log in using facebook the userpic from facebook will appear.

[R Whitman]

I keep thinking that if there is ever a "one state solution" to the Palestinian/Israeli problem, the Arabs will somehow get their hands on all these armaments, nukes and all.

[Fred]

"qualitative military edge (QME)"

They have nuclear weapons, which gives them all the QME they need against neighboring states. What they need for peace is something far different.

[J]

Colonel,

The more the situation develops, the more inclined I become regarding cutting 'all' ties (financial, military, cultural, political) with the pipsqueak postage stamp Israel. They (meaning the Israeli Gvrnmnt) won't let U.S. have our nation's 'stolen' Madoff Billions back. From what I understand, DoJ knows exactly where the Madoff stolen Billion are sitting, but are afraid to get in the Israeli Gvrnmnt's face for fear that those stolen Billions will then disappear even further down a dark Israeli sankhole.

Not only that, but which is a slap to law-abiding American Jews, the State of Israel's Gvrnmnt let's American Jewish crooks run to Israel without the fear of extradition/extraction by U.S. officials for their crimes here in our U.S.. Sitting in Israel today are those wanted for murder, and a host of other felony crimes, sitting on their keesters thumbing their noses at our U.S., knowing that the Israeli Gvrnmnt is protecting them from paying the piper for their crimes. The same thing goes for those wanted in the Russian Federation for crimes ranging from murder to a host of other felony crimes, those individuals are also sitting today safe as butter in the pipsqueak postage stamp Israel. Too bad that our U.S. doesn't buddy up with the Russians and sends in criminal extraction teams to get the wanted perps, and any Israeli maggot (Gvrnmnt type military or civilian) that gets in their way, becomes part of the pavement.

This whole imbroglio with Israel really bites our U.S. tuchas.

[Phil Giraldi]

That Pincus is saying it (even though it is on page 13) and that it is appearing in the Washington Post at all is extremely significant. The idea that aid to Israel is no longer sacrosanct is now out into the mainstream. The next thing that must be publicly challenged is the pledge by an endless series of US politicians to guarantee Israeli security forever and ever no matter what Israel does.

[georgeg]

Superiority over what and whom????

[walrus]

Col. Lang,

Has anyone wondered if some of the Three billion is "recycled" to AIPAC and used to bribe Congress via PAC's, etc.?

Are AIPAC's donors spending their own money or the Taxpayers?

Transfers wouldn't be hard to arrange.

[Jose]

Why don't we use that money to bail out Harrisburg, Pennsylvania?

Does anybody know if that money at some time become a Sovereign Fund?

[mo]

And?

[Roy G.]

Isn't foreign aid like this a big self-licking ice cream cone? I think most Americans believe that foreign aid somehow helps the people in those countries, rather than just being a conduit for laundering US tax money to congressional cronies.

I guess it is true that having this trust fund does enable the Israelis to pay for health care for all their citizens, however, I notice they are having their own problems with the 1% taking everything, and using the old war cry when Israeli citizens protest. Perhaps the Arab Spring is more of a 99% Spring worldwide.

[jerseycityjoan]

Well I checked and Israel has an unemployment rate.

My suggestion is that we have them provide "working scholarships" for a year or two in Israel for unemployed and uninsured Americans who've been out of work since 2007-2008. The Americans will work and get housing for a reasonable rate plus the health insurance they can't get it the U.S. as well as any and all benefits of the Israelis have.

Congress won't approve anything to help the people out of work for 3-4 years will keep on sending Israel money. The [Jewish] Israelis have been taking our money and having superior social services for years.

Let's do a win-win here. Let Israel help Americans with America's own money!! How about it?

[elkern]

Just as surprising, the Comments at the WaPo were overwhelmingly in support of reducing US "aid" to Israel. I didn't read all of them (I'm not that crazy), but I think I read a few dozen before I found one objection. And that one was pretty weak; there was no overt "Israel is our BFF" BS, rather, just a vague warning about chaos if we don't keep pouring the gravy.

[turcopolier]

Roy G

I think not. I don't know if you have been involved in such aid giving, but the demands for particular equipment are all on the Israeli side. pl

[William R. Cumming]

I believe a return to the usage of the word "protectorate" with a cogent explanation to the American people as to why or why not various countries are in fact in such status and exactly why?

Such a list might be quite interesting.

[jerseycityjoan]

Sorry the above was so scrambled. The first sentence should have ended "unemployment rate OF JUST 5.5%."

Let me add else I saw over at nj.com:

"Speaking at Temple Beth-El in Hillsborough on the morning of Sept. 29, the first day of the Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashanah, Israeli ambassador to the United States Michael B. Oren highlighted the long-standing unique relationship between Israel and the United States.

Oren emphasized the importance of this relationship and the role of the United States as Israel’s strong advocate within the world community in the context of the ongoing security threats Israel continues to confront from its Middle East neighbors. These threats include rockets launched from Lebanon and Gaza, and Iran’s nuclear program.

The ambassador also trumpeted Israel’s commercial accomplishments, including its robust economy with a relatively low unemployment rate, and its position as a major player on the world economic scene.

An American-born Israeli historian and author, Oren was appointed ambassador of Israel to the United States by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in 2009. As a condition of assuming this post, Oren was forced to give up his United States citizenship."

Straight from the Israeli Ambassador's mouth: Israel has a "robust" economy with a "relatiave low unemployment rate." Time to keep our aid money and aid ourselves.

http://www.nj.com/messenger-gazette/index.ssf/2011/10/israeli_ambassador_to_us_speaks_at_hillsboroughs_temple_beth-el.html

[turcopolier]

wrc

First on the list should be the US asa protectorate of Israel. i hope they are protecting us. pl

[Roy G.]

Fwiw, here is a Congressional Research Service study from 2010 that provides a historical reference and a detailed breakdown of US aid to Israel:

http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/mideast/RL33222.pdf

[confusedponderer]

Ray McGovern joked in a radio interview that when the Israelis were offered to become a US state, this was rejected out of hand because it would only give them two senators, as opposed to what they have now ...

[Anna-Marina]

David Held: “...the principles of the equal moral worth of each and every human being (without which the human rights regime makes no sense); active agency and self-determination (without which the unique human capacities of reasoning and moral choice cannot be recognized) and deliberation and consent (without which the democratic process would be stillborn).” -- This is the anathema for the faux democracy of the modern Israel. The bullying ethnocentricity (racism) has been killing the Jewish cultural traditions.

[Fred]

Roy G.

Thanks, this is an intestng read. "After years of negotiation, the United States and Israel announced in August 2010 that Israel will purchase 20 F-35s at a cost of $2.75 billion, which will be paid for entirely with FMF grants."

I guess we can kiss goodbye all the technological secrets along with $60 billion.

[Fiorangela]

J, could you please supply details to back up those allegations that there are American Jewish "crooks" who have run to Israel to escape accountability for crimes committed in US?

[Fiorangela]

Money is fungible.
Whatever US dollars to Israel are used for, it frees up other dollars for other uses.
And the best use money can be put to is to buy influence.
Consider this: J Street, the so-called pro-peace pro-Israel, latest iteration/addition to the Israel lobby stable, began only 2 or 3 years ago. Already, it has a multi-million dollar budget, has already hosted major events in very expensive venues in Washington, DC, hires trainers and PR personnel from around the world.

Where does a start-up org. come up with that kind of money in 2-3 years? Our small peace group has been in the field for over 20 years and we struggle to pay the rent on a run-down office.

The money US gives to Israel, and the fact that Israel funds "diplomats" who are not registered foreign agents (who are explicitly and demonstrably committed to demonizing Iran), give Israel and American Jews a major advantage in skewing US policy in Israel's favor, at the expense of US taxpayers and to the detriment of US national interests.

[Fiorangela]

frankly, jersycityjoan, I'm agin it. Let Americans keep their money and help themselves.

btw, Israelis (and Russians) are getting visas to work in Myrtle Beach, SC aeronautics plants, to the detriment of local workers who have the same skill sets, education, experience, & expertise. That's Lindsey Graham's bailiwick.

I'm not an isolationist but I do believe in taking care of your own FIRST.