Six member of Congress call upon Biden “to use all of our nation’s leverage to shift the Israeli military’s strategy in defending itself against Hamas. The humanitarian crisis in Gaza is unacceptable and not in line with American interests.”
All six are Democrats. Four are veterans and the other two worked for the CIA.
I agree with the sentiment, but I’m less than impressed with the structure. I’ve been hearing for weeks that Biden has been urging Israel to shift its “military strategy and tactics”. Sending a public letter? Self-promotion at its finest.
Haven’t seen this cartoon before. Worth sharing.
Wealthy nations use foreign aid money as a lever to control and influence allies and potential enemies alike, and have done so for millennia. In exactly the same way rich people pay poor people to do their bidding and win their loyalty.
Are you asking about foreign aid in general, or about Israel in particular? We just had a 20 year war on (Islamist) terror that never explicitly ended. Israel is wealthy, stable, and trades with the US, and sends and receives tourists between our two nations. They are a long term military ally that not only pledges to defend and fight for us when necessary, but spends billions on weapons and material that our companies sell them, not to mention training by our military.
Hamas is a poor, semi-organized band of guerilla terrorists openly calling for religious conquest and genocide, while murdering civilians and children with crudely fabricated homemade weapons, because fighting an actual military would be laughably pointless for them. If we’re going to pick a side, it seems obvious which one we’d choose. What exactly is confusing about this?
I understand how foreign aid works, but thanks for the primer.
I am asking about Israel specifically, and the current situation in Gaza specifically. I do question the validity of your claim that “They are a long-term military ally that not only pledges to defend and fight for us when necessary” since every time we have fought a war in the Middle East for the past 35 years, we have specifically told Israel not to participate since doing so would likely make things worse. Also, much of the money that Israel spends on US weapons is paid for by US military aid.
Hamas is a terrorist organization that needs to be eliminated, and at no time have I ever called upon the US to pick sides. However, if, in your own words “Hamas is a poor, semi-organized band of guerilla terrorists” does Israel actually need US military assistance to defeat them?
Being an ally of Israel does not mean, or it a least it should not mean, that the US blindly agrees to support every action Israel decides to take. For example, during the Troubles in Northern Ireland, the US did not provide military aid to the UK for their efforts in Ulster. That didn’t mean that the US was no longer an ally of the UK, nor that it would not meet the demands of the NATO agreement to protect the UK during a wider war.
I would have absolutely zero problem with the US telling Israel that we will continue to guarantee protection from foreign invasion, but we are going to sit out their slaughter of thousands of civilians within their “disputed territories.”
Shooting down Houthis missiles is certainly an assist.
Of course not. We didn’t need allies to help us defeat Saddam when he invaded Kuwait, either. But nevertheless it was good for us that they joined the coalition, as demonstrated by the very different response we received to our unilateral invasion during the second Iraq War.
Ultimately, it comes down to “enemies bad, friends good.” And in international relations, friends are made by giving them money, or other considerations of value, such as arms, lucrative trade deals. promises of mutual defense and aid, and support for their political goals.
Bolding mine. They most certainly do not. Israel does not fight for the US, defend the US, and is under no pledge or treaty obligation to do so. It never has, and barring some dramatic and inexplicable tectonic shift, they never will. Likewise, the US does not fight for Israel, defend Israel and is under no pledge or obligation to do so. It never has, and again barring some dramatic and inexplicable tectonic shift, it never will with boots on the ground.* Israel is not NATO, or South Korea, or Japan. The US has treaties to defend those countries if they are attacked, and in the case of NATO, all NATO members are pledged to come the aid of the US militarily if Article Five is invoked, as it was after the 9/11 attacks. Luxemburg aided in the defense of US air and sea space after 9/11. Israel did not. Israel has acted in its own defense in every war and military action it has fought since 1948. Apart from the 1956 Suez War which was instigated by the UK and France to regain ownership of the Suez Canal and in which they acted as ‘peacekeepers’ in the situation, Israel has acted to defend itself alone.
*Before someone points to the US manned Patriot batteries sent to Israel during Desert Storm, I’m aware of it. It was very much the outlier, and done explicitly to coax Israel away from taking unilateral action against Iraq.
Cool, we’ll include that under “continue to guarantee protection from foreign invasion.” We still got your back, what you do in your front yard is on you.
Or, as I mentioned upstream, I’d be glad to trade current military aid for concessions from Israel, like money tied to settlers moving out of the West Bank.
The US also benefits from Israeli intelligence. They obviously have sources in the mid east that the US does not.
Agreed to all of that on international relations advice, but it is also a two-way street. The US has an official policy for a two-state solution in Palestine. After 75 years of support to Israel, why can’t the US ask for something back? And to those who say that this isn’t the time to ask for something like that from Israel, I would reply that no, it is exactly the time to ask for Israel to take active steps towards a two-state solution. By tying aid to such a commitment, it makes it clear the US is helping them solve a generations long problem instead of just sending a check that will only extend the conflict for more generations.
The same Israeli intelligence that missed the largest attack on their homeland in 50 years? Yeah, lemme get some more of that.
States are allowed armies. I think a Palestinian army would be larger and more destructive that a terrorist organization.
I am replying to say I am not ignoring your point, but I don’t want to completely change the conversation in a thread that was already cut out of a larger thread. But if you don’t like that idea, fine I can just go back to the US shouldn’t provide funding for the assault on Gaza.
Let me clarify for all, since I didn’t write the OP to be an OP, I am not saying the US should support Hamas and I am not asking that the US end all relations, including financial and military relations, with Israel. My take is that the US should not provide military aid to the current IDF assault in Gaza.
Don’t you realize the the current war began on October 7due to a foreign invasion?
Armed forces invaded by crashing through a fortified border into Israel.
An excellent point, Sir.
Fine, I’ll take back even that guarantee. We don’t have a formal defense treaty with Israel anyway, so I was just being nice.
https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-760079
https://jinsa.org/jinsa_report/from-partner-to-ally-case-for-us-israel-defense-treaty/
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/26/us/politics/us-defense-alliances-israel-ukraine.html
They’ve asked for things. For example, they asked Israel to not retaliate when Iraq lobbed scuds at them during the first Gulf War in order to not risk Arab nations leaving the coalition, and Israel did so.
What do you think the US should ask Israel for, exactly? Recognition of a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza? With or without a commitment to peace by the would-be rulers of such a state?
Can we take this to mean that you don’t want the Palestinians to ever get statehood?
Or not get statehood until some conditions are met?
I have given your question great thought, and have come up with a solution. In return for funding, Netanyahu resigns and promises to never hold office again. If he breaks that promise, everyone in Gaza gets to kick him in the nads.
Let me turn your question back to you, and everyone else who would like to respond. There are multiple threads on this site with people throwing up their hands saying there is nothing anyone can do to actually solve the ongoing problem. So, I turn to you the smartest, hippest people on the planet. What would you like to see the US do with it’s money and power to promote a permanent solution in the region