Time to cut Israel loose?

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The same "some reason" that all the presidents from Truman to Ford "lived up to the obligation".

The reason is that the US believes it has a strategic interest in funding Israel.

barfo

From Truman to Ford, the US loaned Israel money in times of hardship only.
 
Anyhow, I would rather see us not send them foreign aid, because they don't need it. They have a sufficiently large GDP for their population and the money we're giving them is a tiny fraction of that.
 
Be specific. Starting on page 21, I'm not seeing anything but loan guarantees before Carter.

Look at page 25. See the columns labeled "loan" and "grant"? Notice the economic grants starting in 1951, and the military grants starting in 1974, and the FFP grants starting in 1952? The Amer. Schools and Hosp. Grants starting in 1967? The Jewish Refug. Resettlement grants starting in 1973?

barfo
 
I guess you think the constitution doesn't matter? All the presidents and congresses since Carter have lived up to the obligation for some reason. Feel free to say what that "some reason" is if you differ.

lol. So the only reason all these US presidents continue support paying Israel is because Carter stepped in a gooey mess 30 years ago and all presidents since are powerless to extricate ourselves from the obligation incurred by Carter's mistake.

That's awesome. Every president can just make any agreement he chooses with any country he picks, and for the next 10,000 years all future presidents are obligated to fulfill that promise.

I didn't know that was written into the consitution, but it's a freakin' sweet power. If I were president, I'd arrange a deal with Sweden that they have to supply me and all my heirs forever with hot Swedish concubines, and in exchange they get all the free US manufactured clam chowder they can eat. It's a bargain for the Swedes, even if they only just sort of like clam chowder, and I'd ensure an endless awesome orgy for myself and all my heirs.

No way the great great grandkids forget my birthday.
 
lol. So the only reason all these US presidents continue support paying Israel is because Carter stepped in a gooey mess 30 years ago and all presidents since are powerless to extricate ourselves from the obligation incurred by Carter's mistake.

That's awesome. Every president can just make any agreement he chooses with any country he picks, and for the next 10,000 years all future presidents are obligated to fulfill that promise.

I didn't know that was written into the consitution, but it's a freakin' sweet power. If I were president, I'd arrange a deal with Sweden that they have to supply me and all my heirs forever with hot Swedish concubines, and in exchange they get all the free US manufactured clam chowder they can eat. It's a bargain for the Swedes, even if they only just sort of like clam chowder, and I'd ensure an endless awesome orgy for myself and all my heirs.

No way the great great grandkids forget my birthday.

Yeah, the great great grandkids will remember you, because those concubines will be 100+ in their day. You forgot to specify in the agreement than the concubines would be refreshed every now and then.

barfo
 
lol. So the only reason all these US presidents continue support paying Israel is because Carter stepped in a gooey mess 30 years ago and all presidents since are powerless to extricate ourselves from the obligation incurred by Carter's mistake.

That's awesome. Every president can just make any agreement he chooses with any country he picks, and for the next 10,000 years all future presidents are obligated to fulfill that promise.

I didn't know that was written into the consitution, but it's a freakin' sweet power. If I were president, I'd arrange a deal with Sweden that they have to supply me and all my heirs forever with hot Swedish concubines, and in exchange they get all the free US manufactured clam chowder they can eat. It's a bargain for the Swedes, even if they only just sort of like clam chowder, and I'd ensure an endless awesome orgy for myself and all my heirs.

No way the great great grandkids forget my birthday.

If the presidents weren't bound by these things, one might sign, say, the Kyoto Accord and the next could ignore it. Or the Geneva Conventions.
 
http://wrmea.org/component/content/...rect-us-aid-to-israel-almost-114-billion.html

Components of Israel Aid
Israel is the largest cumulative recipient of U.S. aid since World War II (not counting the huge sums being spent in Iraq). The $3 billion or so per year that Israel receives from the U.S. amounts to about $500 per Israeli. Most of this money is earmarked in the annual Foreign Operations (foreign aid) appropriations bills, with the three major items being military grants (Foreign Military Financing, or FMF), economic grants (Economic Support Funds, or ESF), and “migration and refugee assistance.” (Refugee assistance originally was intended to help Israel absorb Jewish refugees from the Soviet Union, but this was expanded in 1985 to include all refugees resettling in Israel. In fact, Israel doesn’t differentiate between refugees and other immigrants, so this money is used for all immigrants to Israel.)

Not earmarked but also included in congresssional appropriations bills is Israel’s portion of grants for American Schools and Hospitals Abroad (ASHA) and monies buried in the appropriations for other departments or agencies. These are mostly for so-called “U.S.-Israeli cooperative programs” in defense, agriculture, science, and hi-tech industries.

Before 1998, Israel received annually $1.8 billion in military grants and $1.2 billion in economic grants. Then, beginning in FY ‘99, the two countries agreed to reduce economic grants to Israel by $120 million and increase military grants by $60 million annually over 10 years. FY ’08 is the last year of that agreement, with military grants reaching $2.4 billion (reduced by an across-the-board rescission), and zero economic grants. Then, in August 2007, U.S. and Israeli officials signed a memorandum of understanding for a new 10-year, $30 billion aid package whereby FMF will gradually increase, beginning with $2.55 billion in FY ’09, and average $3 billion per year over the 10-year period.



Actually, Carter gave Israel only loans, which were repaid in full. Reagan was the President who restarted our gifting to Israel.

http://www.palestinefacts.org/pf_1991to_now_israel_us_support.php

There has been economic aid to Israel every year since 1949, with the amounts fluctuating, generally increasing as the cooperation with Israel became closer or in years when Israel was forced to fight defensive wars or terrorism. From 1960 until 1985, there were no grants; aid consisted largely of loans, which Israel repaid, and surplus commodities, which Israel bought. The reference "U.S. Assistance to Israel" gives a table of annual amounts. The aid to other countries in the region has also increased and is similar in total amount. Much of the aid to Israel is for defense and the money is actually spent with U.S. suppliers so it recycles back to the United States.
 
Apparently nearly all of the aid we give Israel now is in the form of money which they are required to spend on weapons made by the US. They are then allowed to resell the weapons to whomever they wish, which they do, making them the 9th largest arms dealer in the world.

Here's their special arrangement:

There are at least three ways in which aid to Israel is different from that of any other country. First, since 1982, U.S. aid to Israel has been transferred in one lump sum at the beginning of each fiscal year, which immediately begins to collect interest in U.S. banks. Aid that goes to other countries is disbursed throughout the year in quarterly installments.

Second, Israel is not required to account for specific purchases. Most countries receive aid for very specific purposes and must account for how it is spent. Israel is allowed to place US aid into its general fund, effectively eliminating any distinctions between types of aid. Therefore, U.S. tax-payers are helping to fund an illegal occupation, the expansion of colonial-settlement projects, and gross human rights violations against the Palestinian civilian population.

A third difference is the sheer amount of aid the U.S. gives to Israel, unparalleled in the history of U.S. foreign policy. Israel usually receives roughly one third of the entire foreign aid budget, despite the fact that Israel comprises less than .001 of the worldÿs population and already has one of the world's higher per capita incomes. In other words, Israel, a country of approximately 6 million people, is currently receiving more U.S. aid than all of Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean combined when you take out Egypt and Colombia.


http://www.wrmea.com/html/usaidtoisrael0001.htm
 
The arms we've allowed them to buy are required by law to be used for defensive purposes only. I remember US stopped selling certain types of weapons to Israel because they were used by Israel during an invasion of Lebanon.

Since Bush/Cheney, they are not even prevented from re-selling them to other countries for profit, which is what they now do with most of them.
 
I can't find any evidence at all to back up the claim in Denny's link about any specific financial aid committment Carter made to Israel.

In fact, everything I find says we only made loans under Carter, and they were repaid in full.

Maybe someone else has some?
 
I can't find any evidence at all to back up the claim in Denny's link about any specific financial aid committment Carter made to Israel.

In fact, everything I find says we only made loans under Carter, and they were repaid in full.

Maybe someone else has some?

In 1979, Congress authorized $7.8B for Israel and Egypt, split 3:2 Israel:Egypt (Special International Security Assistance Act of 1979 - google it). The US also paid to rebuild within Israel all the Israeli air bases that had been built in the Sinai. As well, from 1979 on, Israel received at least $2B in aid and Egypt the same amount.

Additionally, any loans made to Israel caused an economic meltdown for the country and were converted to outright grants in 1985.
 
From Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camp_David_Accords

The agreement also resulted in the United States committing to several billion dollars worth of annual subsidies to the governments of both Israel and Egypt, subsidies which continue to this day, and are given as a mixture of grants and aid packages committed to purchasing U.S. materiel. From 1979 (the year of the peace agreement) to 1997, Egypt received military aid of US$1.3 billion annually, which also helped modernize the Egyptian military.[11] (This is beyond economic, humanitarian, and other aid, which has totaled more than US$25 billion.) Eastern-supplied until 1979, Egypt now received American weaponry such as the M1A1 Abrams Tank, AH-64 Apache gunship and the F-16 fighter jet. In comparison, Israel has received $3 billion annually since 1985 in grants and military aid packages.[12]

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

Page 22:

1979 Israeli-Egyptian Peace Treaty
The 1979 Camp David Peace Treaty between Israel and Egypt ushered in the current era of U.S.
financial support for peace between Israel and her Arab neighbors. To facilitate a full and formal
cessation of hostilities and Israel’s return of the Sinai Peninsula, the United States provided a total
of $7.5 billion to both parties in 1979. The “Special International Security Assistance Act of
1979” (P.L. 96-35) provided military and economic grants to Israel and Egypt at a ratio of 3:2,
respectively.68

Page 25:
Aid to Israel:
1979 $4.888B
1980 $2.121B
1981 $2.413B
1982 $2,250B
 
Also from page 22 (you always stop quoting before the evidence contradicts the point you're trying to make):

In 1985, the United States significantly increased U.S. assistance to Israel, with
Congress passing a special economic assistance package of $1.5 billion in order to help the Israeli
economy cope with soaring inflation and economic stagnation.70 As part of the assistance
agreement, the United States and Israel formed the U.S.-Israel Joint Economic Development
Group (JEDG) in order to support Israeli economic reforms.71 In addition, all U.S. military aid to
Israel was converted into grants in 1985.72 U.S. economic aid had been converted to a cash grant
transfer in 1981.
During times of domestic unrest in Israel and regional instability, U.S. aid to Israel has increased.
In 1991, Congress provided Israel $650 million in emergency grants to pay for damage and other
costs from Operation Desert Storm. In addition, Israel was given Patriot missiles to defend
against Iraqi Scud missile attacks. After the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union and the ensuing
increase in migration of Russian and other Eastern bloc Jews to Israel, Congress approved $10
billion in loan guarantees for Israel to help it absorb immigrants and provide them with adequate
social services. Finally, in the aftermath of the 2003 Iraq invasion, Congress passed the FY2003
Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act (P.L. 108-11), which included $9 billion in loan
guarantees over three years for Israel’s economic recovery and $1 billion in military grants.


It's clear Reagan and Congress are the culprits who twisted a wisely constructed loan program of Carter's which greatly benefited American Industry into a $3 billion yearly giveaway to Israel.
 

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