• Washington preparing to hand the Israelis largest military aid package in U.S. history.
By John Friend —
In yet another display of the total stranglehold that the vast network of pro-Israel lobbies dominating Washington, D.C. have over the United States federal government, the Obama administration recently announced it was set to offer Israel the largest military aid package that any country has ever received in U.S. history.
Although precise details of the military aid package are still being negotiated with Israel, White House officials confirmed the size and scope of the pending giveaway of even more American taxpayer dollars.
“We are prepared to sign [a memorandum of understanding] with Israel that would constitute the largest single pledge of military assistance to any country in U.S. history,” an anonymous White House official told Reuters recently.
Currently, the U.S. gives Israel over $3 billion annually in military aid and other financial assistance, not to mention unwavering political and diplomatic support. That translates to roughly $10.2 million per day American taxpayers give to Israel.
The pledge from the Obama administration comes after more than 80 of the 100 sitting U.S. senators—four-fifths of the upper house of Congress—signed a letter spearheaded by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), the powerful pro-Israel lobby, announcing their support for “a substantially enhanced new long-term agreement to help provide Israel the resources it requires to defend itself and preserve its qualitative military edge.”
In total, 83 U.S. senators have signed the letter—51 Republicans and 32 Democrats—which was originally drafted by Senators Christopher Andrew “Chris” Coons (D-Del.) and Lindsey Olin Graham (R-S.C.) in conjunction with AIPAC. Late last month, Graham, one of the most slavishly pro-Israel senators in Washington, D.C., disgracefully told The Times of Israel that he will “do everything I can to squeeze some money out of a tight budget to help increase funding for Israel.”
Senator Rafael Edward “Ted” Cruz (R-Texas), whose presidential aspirations ended in Indiana, unsurprisingly signed the letter. Senator Bernard “Bernie” Sanders, who is challenging Hillary Clinton for the Democratic presidential nomination and admirably refused to speak to speak at the recent annual AIPAC policy conference, did not.
The letter sent to President Barack Hussein Obama goes on to note that “a strong and secure Israel remains a central pillar of our national strategy to achieve peace and stability in the Middle East” and that “Israel remains America’s strongest ally in this troubled region,” claims that are easily refuted by an objective analysis of the situation and historical relationship between the two nations.
The letter describes a variety of manufactured threats Israel currently faces and argues that these alleged threats are forcing Israel to devote more resources to its defense.
The letter falsely alleges that Hezbollah, the nationalist Shi’ite organization opposing Israeli aggression against Lebanon and Syria, has positioned “150,000 rockets and missiles to Israel’s north, and promises to attack at a time of its choosing.” Hezbollah has consistently acted in self defense when Israel Defense Forces attack, bomb, and militarily intervene in the affairs of Lebanon and Syria.
The letter also hypes the purported threat Israel faces from Hamas, Iran, and various “radical Islamic terrorist groups” operating in the Mideast, none of which has ever actually targeted Israel.
Many independent geopolitical analysts have posited that Islamic State, for example, is funded and manipulated by Western intelligence agencies working in conjunction with Israel in order to destabilize Syria and other governments in the Middle East so that Zionist hegemony can be advanced in the region.
According to reports, Israel is pushing for an increase in annual military and financial aid from over $3 billion currently to between $4 and $5 billion annually.
Interestingly, leading GOP presidential contender Donald J. Trump told reporters in late March that he believes Israel and other American allies should be paying for American defense aid, which would represent a stark break from traditional U.S. policy toward the Jewish state.
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Trump’s frank statements to the media came just before his speech to the annual AIPAC conference in Washington, D.C., where he fell in line and pledged his unswerving loyalty to Israel.
On March 10, Google Consumer Surveys conducted a single-question poll of adult Internet users: “The U.S. gives Israel over $3 billion annually (9% of the foreign aid budget and more than any other country). The amount is: Much too much; Too much; About right; Too little; Much too little.” A third (32.5%, the plurality of respondents) answered “much too much,” while 29.4% (the second-largest group) said “too much.” In all, over three-fifths of respondents (61.9%) believe Israel receives too much largesse stolen from taxpayers’ pockets.
John Friend is a California-based writer who maintains a blog.
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