Israel/Palestine
Related: About this forumObama's Promise Kept to Israel
I can assure you, if somebody was sending rockets into my house where my two daughters sleep at night, Im going to do everything in my power to stop that. And I would expect Israelis to do the same thing. This was the vow made by then-senator Barack Obama in Sderot in 2008, after the besieged Israeli city had been hit by more than 2,000 rockets,
During his first term as president, Barack Obama has made good on this assurance. Most recently, on May 17, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta announced that the United States would immediately provide Israel with $70 million for the purchase of additional rocket defense batteries. This aid comes after the Obama administration had already given Israel $205 million in 2011, in addition to the $3 billion Israel receives in annual foreign aid.
Since 2009, in fact, the United States has committed more than $1 billion to helping Israel develop and deploy a comprehensive missile defense system. Designed to counter not only rocket fire from Gaza and southern Lebanon but also the missiles in Irans arsenals, it has already proven itself in battle. The missile defense system is absolutely vital to Israels long-term security, and its an example of how, since President Obama took office, Americas commitment to the Jewish states defenses has grown where it counts the most.
American funding for Davids Sling, Israels missile-defense system, more than doubled over the last four years from $52 million during the last year of President George W. Bushs administration to $110.5 million this year. Funding for the advanced system, developed to defend against the ballistic- and cruise-missile threat from Hezbollah, Syria and Iran, has increased every year since President Obama took office in 2009. The systems interceptor missile, the Stunner, has already been successfully tested, and the first operational Davids Sling battery is scheduled to be deployed in early 2013.
http://forward.com/articles/159247/obamas-promise-kept-to-israel/
choie
(4,111 posts)I bet he (Obama) can't understand why people who are victims of our drone attacks might want to do everything in their power to stop them.
bemildred
(90,061 posts)Whatever he is, he isn't dumb. He didn't get where he is by ignoring the obvious.