US to offer Israel largest military aid package ever

The White House told members of U.S. Congress that it has offered to substantially sweeten a military aid package to Israel after months of negotiations.

Under the deal, the U.S. would insist that the tens of billions of dollars be spent on goods and services made in the US. This is a substantial change as a sizable portion of money spent now can be spent on Israeli-made goods as well as from other countries. The details of the new deal were laid out in a lengthy letter to Senators.

During the debate over Iran last year, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would not negotiate a new aid package with Obama but once the deal lifting sanctions on Iran went into effect negotiations on a new package began again. The present deal expires in 2018.

Obama's national security adviser Susan Rrice and director of the Office of Management and Budget said that the Obama administration was ready to increase the present military aid package to Israel of almost $30 billion, and replace it with a new one that would be "the largest pledge of military assitance to any country in US history."

The new deal includes a 10-year pledge to fund Israeli missile defense systems doing away with unpredictable yearly installments that were contingent on the annual US procurement process. Rice and Donovan maintained that the agreement would build on the unparalleled support the US has provided Israel under Obama and that through word and deed the Obama administration has done more for Israel's security than any other in history. The Israeli PM has often been critical of Obama and objected to the US agreement with Iran.

Obama said he was anxious to complete the deal with Israel before he left office. Netanyahu too said he was anxious to complete the new military aid package. Some analysts think that Netanyahu may be waiting for a better deal with a new president but Israel denies this. Other analysts claim that Obama wants to finish the deal to show that he has not been too hard on Israel. The negotiations have been secret, although people close to the talks say that total aid could be as high as $40 billion. Ilan Goldberg, director of the Middle East Security Program at the Center for a New American Security said: “The chances seem to be better now than they were a couple months ago” that the two sides will reach a deal. Clearly, they’re getting to the end one way or the other.”

The new deal will help US companies as during the current deal Israel has spent about $7.9 billion outside the US. Israel was allowed to spend about a quarter of its aid outside the US under the present package. No other recipient of US military aid has been allowed such leeway. The original idea was to help spur Israel's defense industry which is now booming.

The aid package is being offered even as criticism of Israel continues. A report by the Quartet :The report warned Israel needs to immediately stop expanding its settlements, and also stop its ongoing efforts to hinder the development of Palestinian territories. The report also called on the Palestinians to unite under a single, democratically-elected government.Israeli officials expressed outrage at the report claiming that the report "perpetuated the myth" that the settlements were a problem. Israel has recently budgeted an extra $18 million for West Bank settlements.

In response to Palestinian violence against Israelis, the Israeli military cordoned off the entire West Bank city of Hebron, putting about 700,000 people under a military blockade. In addition Israel has announced that it is intending to confiscate some of the tax money that it collects for Palestinians. Other measures are planned. Several ministers have gone on record that there should be more demolitions of Palestinian buildings and seizure of land to build settlements. None of these actions, some of which represent collective punishment, appear to have any influence on the Obama administrations' intent to send Israel even more military aid.

US military aid to Israel to increase

Premier Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel met with U.S. President Barack Obama on Monday--November 9-- at the White House. The meeting was positive with no signs of the testiness or tension sometimes evident when the two leaders meet.

+ Add Image

Obama promised Netanyahu large increases in military aid and Obama defended and even praised Israeli use of "self-defense" in the ongoing conflict and crackdown on Palestinians. Netanyahu praised the meeting as one of the best he had ever had with Obama. No doubt the US military-industrial complex saw the meeting in a positive light as well. Netanyahu said:“Israel has shouldered a tremendous defence burden over the years and we have done it with the generous assistance of the United States of America.”

Much of the meeting dealt with creating a new military aid package for Israel. The existing 10-year deal agreed to under the administration of George W. Bush is set to expire. It was worth a total of $30 billion. Netanyahu is hoping to receive a much more generous aid amount from Obama. Obama has made it clear that there is no question that the aid package would be renewed. Obama said:“.. as I’ve said repeatedly, the security of Israel is one my top foreign policy priorities and that has expressed itself not only in words but in deeds...I want to be very clear that we condemn in the strongest terms Palestinian violence against innocent Israeli citizens and I want to repeat once again that it is my strong belief that Israel has not just the right but an obligation to protect itself. We have closer military and intelligence cooperation than any two administrations in history. The military assistance that we provide we consider not only an important part of our obligation to the state of Israel, but also an important part of US security infrastructure in the region.”

Officials from the two countries have apparently already broad agreement on what weapons Israel will be able to obtain under a memorandum of understanding. Israel is said to be asking that yearly military aid be increased under the package from the present $3 billion a year to about $4.5 billion, a 50 percent increase over the last package under Bush. Even the present agreement gives Israel more than half of total U.S. military aid expenditures used to finance foreign allies in 2016. The Israel aid also allows Israel to use up to a quarter of the funds provided to purchase arms from its own manufacturers. A recent congressional report estimates the total U.S. military assistance to Israel since it was founded at $124.3 billion. In spite of the positive spin on the talks, there was no change in Israel's stance on the Iran nuclear deal. Netanyahu still strenuously opposes the deal and the U.S. support for it. The U.S. is expected to provide several billion dollars extra in military aid as a reparations deal in compensation for the US supporting the Iran nuclear deal. As the appended video shows, some estimates are that Israel wants $50 billion over the ten year aid package period.

The Obama administration's pressure for peace talks to resolve the Israel Palestinian conflicts appears to have evaporated. Times of Israel reports:The White House said that it was unlikely that an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal would be achieved, or that peace talks would even be renewed, in the last 14 months of Obama’s term.

Netanyahu reaffirmed to Obama before the meeting that he was committed to a two-state solution. However, it is not clear that there will be much Palestinian-claimed land left as Israel expands its settlements over more and more territory. Perhaps the announcement of preliminary approval of another 2,000 new settlement homes near Ramallah was released just as the Netanyahu Obama meeting took place to emphasize to the US the reality of the situation. Obama did not ask that Netanyahu freeze settlements.

Obama's remarks about the peace process sound hollow with no concrete proposals set out: “I also will discuss with the prime minister his thoughts on how we can lower the temperature between Israelis and Palestinians, how we can get back on a path toward peace and how we can make sure that legitimate Palestinian aspirations are met through a political process even as we make sure that Israel is able to secure itself."Netanyahu replies in kind noting that Israelis have not given up their hope of peace and never will. Netanyahu envisions two states for two peoples, a demilitarised Palestinian state that recognizes the Jewish state. There appears little hope for that. However, Netanyahu can realistically hope for a much better armed Israel a situation likely to result in continued repression and conflict with Palestinians.

Israel may have misused cluster bombs claims US.

"may have", a rather quaint phrasing instead of straight out saying they did. When and if the US comes to the judgment that they actually did, what will happen? Will there be a sternly worded protest and warning not to do it again?
Israel also has atomic weapons. The US is not even supposed to give military aid to countries that have helped proliferate nuclear weapons I understand. That is one reason Israel does not admit to having them.


Israel may have misused cluster bombs, says U.S.
Last Updated: Monday, January 29, 2007 | 2:10 PM ET
CBC News
Israel may have violated an agreement with Washington by using American-made cluster bombs during last summer's war with Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon, the U.S. State Department said Monday.

White House spokesperson Sean McCormack said a preliminary report on an American probe into the issue has been handed to Congress, but didn't provide further details on the investigation.

"There were likely violations," McCormack told reporters.

The probe was opened in 2006 after UN reports that three types of American cluster bombs were found in populated areas in southern Lebanon.

Cluster bombs release smaller bomblets that spread out on the ground.

The report, McCormack said, "is not a final judgment." He declined to speculate on what action may be taken against Israel if a violation is confirmed.

When Israel purchases cluster bombs and other lethal equipment from the United States, it must agree in writing to restrictions on their use, including using them in civilian areas.

The Israeli army has said all weapons it uses "are legal under international law and their use conforms with international standards."

The UN has called for a freeze on their use in or near populated areas.