Tuesday, February 7, 2012

U.S. Aid to Israel


U.S. Aid to Israel

The most insidious, socially acceptable criticism of Israel focuses on the $3 billion dollar in aid it receives each year from the U.S. Israel’s critics randomly fling dollar amounts and twist statistics to obfuscate the typically uninformed, uninterested, and/or already hostile public. Although facts are usually irrelevant to Israel’s critics, let us examine the financial, strategic, and political realities of U.S. aid to Israel.

The Dollars Return to the U.S.
Over 20% of Israel's budget is dedicated to defense, compared to 7% in the U.S. and less than 1% in Japan. About 75% of the $3 billion in military aid *must* be used by Israel to purchase American military equipment. By far the largest share of aid benefits American defense contractors. In addition, the Agency for International Development estimates that every billion dollars of aid to Israel creates 60,000 to 70,000 jobs in the United States. Other than U.S. loan guarantees, which are repaid in full and on time, there is no economic aid to Israel.

Military Aid to Other Foreign Countries
Compared to $3 billion in military aid to Israel, the U.S. contributes more than $130 billion every year to the defense of Europe and more than $30 billion to the defense of Japan, Korea, and the Far East. Over 300,000 U.S. troops are stationed with NATO and over 30,000 U.S. troops in the Far East. In contrast, not one U.S. soldier needs to be stationed or put at risk in Israel. U.S. military analysts estimate that the U.S. would have to spend the equivalent of $150 billion a year in the Middle East to maintain a force equivalent to Israel’s.
U.S.-Israeli Missile Defense Cooperation
Israel is the only country that has battlefield experience with U.S. weapons—experience Israel immediately shares with the U.S. Enormous quantities of captured Soviet weapons and defense systems have been turned over to the U.S. military for analysis. Israel, in the light of its experience, continually modifies U.S. weapons systems for maximum efficiency.
The U.S. and Israel jointly developed state-of-the-art missile defense capabilities (for example, David’s Sling and Arrow 3 systems). The knowledge the U.S. obtains from these efforts has a multiplier effect on applications to other U.S. military and non-military uses and increases the number of U.S. jobs.


Militarily Strategic Location
Essentially, Israel acts as America’s only unsinkable aircraft carrier in the Middle East. Given Israel’s strategic location on the Mediterranean, with access to the Red Sea and other vital international shipping and military lanes of commerce and traffic, the U.S. uses Israel as a port of call for our troops, ships, aircraft and intelligence operations.
Israel also permits the U.S. to stockpile arms, fuel, munitions, and other supplies on its soil to be accessed whenever America needs them in the region. With Israeli agents gathering intelligence and taking action throughout the Middle East and around the world regarding the Muslim Brotherhood, al-Qaida, Hamas, Hezbollah, etc., the U.S. receives invaluable information about anti-U.S. and terrorist organizations and regimes.
Furthermore, Israel effectively secures NATO’s southeastern flank, without having a single American soldier stationed in its territory. Still, the military installations, air and sea lift capabilities, equipment and food storage capacity, and trained manpower to maintain and repair sophisticated U.S. equipment are instantly at hand in Israel.
You will recall the many operations the IDF and Israel’s intelligence have undertaken to foil and disrupt Iran’s efforts to develop nuclear weapons capability. A nuclear-armed Iran threatens the lives of hundreds of thousands of Americans in the region, all of Iran’s Arab neighbors, the world’s largest oil supplies, and those who rely on that oil. It also would provide anti-U.S. terrorists with access to the most lethal Iranian technology and probably set off a nuclear arms race in the region.
It would be more in line with reality if the U.S. classified military aid to Israel were classified as part of the defense budget, rather than as aid. It makes no economic, military, or political sense for the U.S. to turn its back on Israel. I am not of the belief that abandoning and disrespecting America’s staunchest ally ingratiates us to those who seek to destroy us. Doing so clearly reflects other motives.

Sources: FLAME, CRS Report for Congress: “U.S. Foreign Aid to Israel” (2008)


And for a more detailed look... http://fpc.state.gov/documents/organization/100102.pdf

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