General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsIsrael Can Live Without U.S. Aid
To the delight of Israels enemies and the dismay of its supporters, libertarian Senator Rand Paul, a potential Republican contender for the United States presidency, argued while in Israel this week that the U.S. should phase out the $3-billion per year in aid that it provides Israels military. Ending this aid along with U.S. aid to all foreign countries call it the Rand Paul Doctrine would actually leave Israel better off, he claimed to raised eyebrows.
Criticism was quick, especially from Israels supporters in the U.S. Said Senator Bill Nelson: Israel needs the full assistance of the U.S. Its the only way Israel can remain secure. Said the National Jewish Democratic Council: Senator Pauls misguided views on aid to Israel are plain wrong.
In fact, the Rand Paul Doctrine is eminently sensible and should be seen as such, including to Israels supporters. Pauls assessment that U.S. aid hampers Israels ability to make its own decisions as it sees fit is indisputable, as is his assessment that the U.S. gift of military hardware represents lost contracts for Israels defence industries. Fresh eyes on Israels need for U.S. help would be salutary.
For starters, lets dispense with the myth that, but for the grace of the U.S. government, Israel could never have survived against its much more populous and better-armed enemies. In the first decades following Israels creation in 1948, the U.S was less friend than foe, generally siding with Israels Arab neighbours, whom the U.S courted for their oil wealth and to keep them out of the Soviet sphere. The U.S. not only gave Israel little economic and no military aid in the early years the first military grant wouldnt come until 1974, a quarter century after Israels founding it refused to even sell arms to help the fledgling state defend itself. Meanwhile, the U.S. not only sold arms to Israels enemies, it also lavished them with economic and military aid through a Marshall-type plan for the Middle East.
MORE...
http://opinion.financialpost.com/2013/01/11/israel-can-live-without-u-s-aid/
ellisonz
(27,709 posts)Israel has a GDP of $237 billion. Israel has a defense budget of about $15 billion including our aid. They spend about 7% of GDP on Defense, in contrast to our approximately 5% spending. If we were to withdraw our aid to Israel they could easily make it up without too much negative drag on their economy (Israel has weathered the recession very well BTW).
Israel is not dependent on our aid, they don't need it to be secure, but I don't believe they would do anything different unless we were to pull our diplomatic support too.
That's the math.
R. Daneel Olivaw
(12,606 posts)when one suggests it? If aid was to be pulled then it should be pulled on human rights issues alone.
Possibly it is like any freebee. Why let a good thing slip away when you can keep it?
ellisonz
(27,709 posts)....like I said, from a non-political perspective i.e. that of someone with some study of international relations as a discipline, I do not believe, based on the economic figures and geopolitical position of Israel, that our withdrawing our aid would either substantively weaken the defense capabilities of Israel or force a policy change in Israel. Quite simply, the argument that Israel is dependent on the US for either military or international political support is overstated. This is especially true with the decline of the Labor Party in Israel which is way more influenced by US policy than Likud.
That's just the math, you don't have to like it.
Larrymoe Curlyshemp
(111 posts)We should cut aid to all oppressive regimes, starting with Israel and Pakistan, our two worst "allies."
Israel is an incredibly innovative society. They lack only a market.
We actually get a lot back from Israel. There is a lot more cooperation between Israel and us than some might suspect. Israel continues to be useful in a dangerous and volatile region.
ellisonz
(27,709 posts)...and a well-developed human and industrial infrastructure.
Israel would certainly benefit from having a stronger regional market, but they have a solid EU presence and prospects in China, India, and the developing world.
Israel is a relatively safe economic bet.
dballance
(5,756 posts)Why the hell we're supporting Netanyahu baffles me. We used to support Sadam Hussen too. That didn't work out well did it?
So sorry AIPAC lets spend our money domestically. And no, that is not anti-semitic. It's just good sense for our domestic needs.
Purveyor
(29,876 posts)disaster but beyond that, in this day and age...we can't afford it anymore.
RomneyLies
(3,333 posts)Scootaloo
(25,699 posts)He suggested phased ends to funding, starting with those nations with "strained relations" to the US... He specifically mentioned Egypt, for instance.
In other words? We;d keep funding Israel's military after ceasing to do so to other states in the region. End result? We're still fueling Israel's war machine while making the people who bear the brunt of it more vulnerable.
Basically, he called for continuing welfare for the strong and penalties to the weak.
Response to Purveyor (Original post)
darkangel218 This message was self-deleted by its author.
ellisonz
(27,709 posts)...and in the Israeli budget its a smidgen. Israel has a budget of $76 billion - our aid of $3 billion is approximately 4% of their budget. We would double their budget deficit of 4% but they would survive. This is in contrast to our budget deficit of approximately 34%.
We probably should pull our aid to help clean our fiscal house (albeit it's a very small step). Doing so would actually be more beneficial in the long-run to the security of Israel!
Response to ellisonz (Reply #11)
darkangel218 This message was self-deleted by its author.
ellisonz
(27,709 posts)We give lots of money to other countries for military purposes - 150 countries to be exact.
Afghanistan 6,800.3
Israel 2,799.5
Egypt 1,301.9
Iraq 1,006.0
Pakistan 913.9
Jordan 303.8
Somalia 204.0
Colombia 185.8
Russia 126.8
Sudan 104.9
Mexico 96.0
Poland 55.6
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_military_aid
Response to ellisonz (Reply #14)
darkangel218 This message was self-deleted by its author.
Behind the Aegis
(53,833 posts)The majority of the money is in the form of loans. Another form is "cash in the system" type of money. The US provides money which then Israel in turn spends on American products (almost always defense items). Some of the money that appears to be "gifts" are actually used for testing American systems in Israel. Their nation is a foothold in a volatile region. You have already stated you don't understand and have have no clue, so I suggest you read up on the Middle East, start with hostile on-set of the Cold War. Most of the Arab countries were "falling" to the Soviets, the US decided to "invest" with the Israelis. That is really the beginning of the US-Israeli relationship, thought the US was the 1st (2nd?) country to officially recognize Israel as a sovereign nation.
ellisonz
(27,709 posts)We're still very much running our Cold War international apparatus.
If our financial support in anyway influenced Israeli policy, then logically Israel should have had a different policy before the onset of our aid in the early 1970s: but it didn't.
I would add that if we took the axe to our Defense Budget (and we very much should) - foreign military aid would be one the last things I would cut. We get tremendous value for our buck in that department.
Rex
(65,616 posts)alliance with the United States. That won't ever change. I have no doubt they can survive without US aid, but they will never have to worry about it imo.
The US is the largest arms dealer on the planet. We are lucky all the other countries have not caught on yet.