Netanyahu Is Bringing a $4.5 Billion-a-Year Arms Wish List to Obama

[Purveyor]

Source: Bloomberg

By Jonathan Ferziger, Nicole Gaouette
November 3, 2015 — 5:00 PM EST

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu returns to the White House next week seeking to boost annual U.S. military aid to an estimated $4.5 billion and, his former ambassador to Washington says, unapologetic about trying to sink the U.S.-led Iran nuclear deal.

“It’s not going to be warm and fuzzy,” said Michael Oren, an Israeli lawmaker who was Netanyahu’s U.S. envoy for five years. “It’s about what we need to defend ourselves and what we need to deter Iran.”

Netanyahu’s March 3 speech to the Republican-led Congress opposing the Iran accord so strained ties with President Barack Obama that he was told he wouldn’t be welcome at the White House. Now that the deal has been approved, both men have reasons to focus during this visit on areas of agreement, such as strengthening Israel’s defense capabilities. Few expect resolution of their ideological differences over Iran and peace efforts with the Palestinians before Obama’s term ends.

“There is a real opportunity to at least steady this very rocky relationship in its final year,” said Aaron David Miller, vice president of the Wilson Center in Washington, who served as a Middle East negotiator under Democratic and Republican presidents. “I think this administration would like to leave office with the channel changed.”

Read more: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-11-03/netanyahu-bringing-4-5-billion-a-year-arms-wish-list-to-obama

---

I would like to hear the Democratic candidates for Pres. positions on this...

[geek tragedy]

1. Democratic candidates:

Hillary: Let's give him $4.9 billion.

Bernie: That ask is outrageous. Not a penny more than $4.495 billion

O'Malley: Thanks for remembering that I'm still a candidate.

[Owl]

15. Apparently 1.8 billion more than last year. Ugh.

[Jefferson23]

31. LOL +1.

[forest444]

2. Such a deal.

[Raster]

10. LEAVE IT ALONE!

Juror #1 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: No explanation given
Juror #2 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: What possible reason would this be alerted on?
Juror #3 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: Anti-Netanyahu, not anti-Semitic in general. I don't see a problem with this.
Juror #4 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: No explanation given
Juror #5 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: I don't agree. It refers to US foreign aid to Israel.
Juror #6 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: No explanation given
Juror #7 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: Sorry, I do NOT see anti-semitism here. What I do see is a fair characterization of Netanyahu, who is more than willing to take American foreign aid and much less willing to take American advice and counsel - and revels in such. And further, I am sick and tired of the "anti-semite" card being played anytime there is criticism of Israel or it's policies. LEAVE IT ALONE.

[randys1]

12. Juror 2 here, cant understand why some cant differentiate between anti semitism and anti

neo cons

[GoneFishin]

18. They are conflating the two on purpose to elicit unwarranted sympathy for indefensible policies.

[forest444]

13. Thank you, Raster and Randy.

The post was, as Juror 3 stated, anti-Netanyahu, not anti-Semitic.

I can't imagine that the atrocities he inflicts on people who after all are his responsibility, to be in the least reflective of Jewish values - or frankly of human decency.

[Jesus Malverde]

16. Can you post the text of the alert...thanks...nt

[Raster]

17. Text of the alert:

REASON FOR ALERT

This post is disruptive, hurtful, rude, insensitive, over-the-top, or otherwise inappropriate.

ALERTER'S COMMENTS

Im no Netanyahu fan, but this is an Anti-semetic cartoon; plays into the "money grubbing Jews" stereotype.

[Jesus Malverde]

20. Thanks...nt

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

26. Good Lord, we're in a thread specifically about Netanyahu coming to tell the US he wants billions of

dollars, and a cartoon depicting the actual reality on the ground is 'anti-Semitic'?

They don't want our advice, they do want our money. Get over it, it's actual reality, not some 'stereotype'.

[yardwork]

27. the cartoon is actually carefully drawn to avoid the stereotype.

The cartoonist did a good job.

[geek tragedy]

48. there's at least one poster here who says they don't like Netanyahu but

alerts on criticisms of him, because of course it's anti-Semitic to criticize him

[davidpdx]

61. A very bad alert, but the jury did a great job rebuking the alerter

The only thing I would have like to seen is a few more comments by the jurors. I know it's a pain in the ass writing stuff, but my personal opinion is jury members should justify their vote even if it isn't required.

[Solero]

24. Our aid to Israel should come with strings attached

And conditions to meet. If they fail to meet them, no more shiny new toys.

[forest444]

42. Basic common sense, isn't it.

I always wondered why we felt we needed to leave our better judgement at the door when it came to Israel - especially when we know that their brutality is like a match being constantly waved in front of the world's tinderbox.

And welcome to DU, Solero! Happy posting, my good sir.

[avebury]

3. We need to cut off his allowance.

Why should we give him billions of dollars in aide when he tried to interfer with our government? I would rather plow the money into fixing our infrastructure.

[leftynyc]

29. So you want all Israeli's to suffer

because 22% of them voted for Bibi? I detest Bibi but that's just bullshit. It doesn't matter anyway. Congress has the purse strings and they'll get whatever it is they're looking for. One day DU will face reality and realize they represent a very tiny minority on the issue of Israel.

[wordpix]

33. then we should also cut off aid to Turkey, Iraq (close to Iran), Qatar that supports Hamas

etc. etc.

One reason the ME is so dangerous is we keep sellling billion$ in arms to EACH of these players

[avebury]

43. We should cut off military funding

for all of them because it just hasn't turned out well for us.

It is time to invest in our own country and rebuild our crumbling infrastructure.

[smirkymonkey]

45. Hear, hear!

[wordpix]

55. could not agree more but with oil politics

ain't likely to happen. Exxon and the like want to keep the war machine close by in the ME

[Bigmack]

4. IF reason ruled in this STRANGE land

We wouldn't give them a DIME until and unless they pulled ALL THE WAY OUT of the occupied territories and agreed to a two state solution. YESTERDAY. Israel is the last European colony in the Middle East. Ms Bigmack

[mountain grammy]

7. +1000

[TrollBuster9090]

5. Obama: "No Problem, Bibi! Just endorse the Iran Deal, and..."

"...and admit that your idea to align the Israeli national government with the GOP was the dumbest mistake any Israeli leader has ever made. Better leave foreign policy to experts from now on."

[tabasco]

6. Tell him to fuck off, Obama.

I can wish.

[Chasstev365]

8. Sure Thing!

As soon as you stop treating the Gaza Strip as the 21st Century Warsaw Ghetto!

[Mosby]

38. there is no comparison between the two

It's very offensive in fact, shows a profound lack of humanity towards the 300,000 Jews from the ghetto who ultimately died in the extermination camps.

[avebury]

44. The Holocaust should not provide a permanent

pass for the Israelis to commit their own brand of misdeeds. At some point they need to put their big boy pants on and find away to get along with their neighbors just like their neighbors need to do the same.

Why on earth should be continue to fund any of these countries? It is like constantly flushing money down the sewer because nothing will ever change until they all decide that they are ready to adopt change. If all the other countries stopped funding this insanity, they may reach the point where they will be forced to deal with one another.

The real key is to focus on alternative energy in order to make oil irrelevant and no longer an argument for the west to constantly try to interfere in a pointless never ending conflict.

[Mosby]

46. the post your defending brought up the Holocaust not me.

I'm not going to waste my time with the rest of your post other than to mention that the Palestinians could have had a state at least seven different times now.

Why don't you read up on the Arab/Israeli conflict and get back to me.

Eta - the foul comparison made in the post you're defending is considered antisemitic by most people.

[avebury]

47. I am neither antisemitic nor anti-muslim

Both sides have committed wrong doings against the each other and will do so until they finally realize that it is fruitless.

Providing perpetual foreign aid only enables the state of perpetual conflict at the expense of our own country, people and infra-structure while feeding the the never ending demands of the MIC to make endless piles of money. The Middle Eastern countries have to come to their own realization that endless skirmishes will not get them anywhere and decide to change the course they chart. Feeding them endless military supplies prevents from any chance of ever seeing the light. They may just have to hit rock bottom to consider changing how they deal with one another. It is called tough love. They themselves have to decide that they want change and no one can make them so why should be continue to fund it?

Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

[wordpix]

56. are you aware that some Hamas leaders make billion$ each off Gaza's citizens?

Read Schanzer's report to Congress et. al. Stop blaming Israel for everything. Hamas' leaders are gouging their own citizens.

[Punx]

9. And not a penny to spare

For anything that would actually help the average person in our own country.

Just outrageous if you ask me. There's always money to blow up brown skinned people overseas, to spy on us at home etc...

[kacekwl]

22. This and the many other

insane uses of tax money is why I chuckle when I hear we are broke, we can't afford health care for all , education , social security , etc. etc. I laugh untill I cry.

[dflprincess]

58. But Israel has health care for all.

Go figure.

[sulphurdunn]

11. That's a lot of money

to give people so they can buy the worlds most advanced weapons to defend themselves from occupied people who throw rocks at them, attack them with knives and shoot very small missiles at them from Ghetto Gaza that have the accuracy of pop bottle rockets.

[former9thward]

64. So if Mexico was firing "pop bottle rockets." at San Diego

you would have no problem with it. Says a lot about you.

[sulphurdunn]

66. Mexico wouldn't fire any kind of rockets

at San Diego because we haven't blockaded it and don't routinely bomb it back to the stone age, killing thousands of Mexicans while whining about how we are just defending ourselves. Your false equivalency analogy say a lot about you, especially whose lives you consider valuable and whose you don't.

[mahannah]

14. Just say no.

[GoneFishin]

19. Fuck that.

[ozone_man]

21. Why on earth should we?

To prop up this apartheid state. They can support themselves.

[smirkymonkey]

51. Yes, and doesn't Israel already have enough fire-power to blow up the Muslim world

many times over? Why do they need more?

They don't. Our MIC WANTS more money flowing back to them, that's why we are so generous.

[ozone_man]

52. It's Why We Fight (the MIC)

Why We Fight (2005) documentary by Eugene Zarecki

[smirkymonkey]

54. Added to my order list.

Thanks for the suggestion!

[Midnight Writer]

23. Not to worry. Our fiscally conservative Republican Congress will never allow this.

I wouldn't be surprised if they shut down the government over this request. After all, if we can't afford a half billion for our women's health care, surely we can't afford this kind of giveaway to the non-productive takers who screw us over on the international front. As true capitalists, surely they recognize that the "invisible hand" of the free markets would enable Israel to pay for their own defense needs if they were truly a viable state.

And besides, we would have to borrow that money ourselves from the Chinese, since America is broke. Everyone knows that.

Perhaps Sheldon Adelson could take a percentage of his annual profits that he is able to eke out under the despotic Obama regime and pay for Israel's defense on his own. After all, he is 86 years old and worth 40 billion. Why doesn't he use his free market money to do what he believes so strongly in?

[jmowreader]

25. You forgot the sarcasm smiley

Our so-called fiscally conservative Republican Congress LOVES Israel. It plays a large role in their campaign to force Jesus to come back whether he wants to or not.

[DetlefK]

28. What would the US get in return for $4.5 billion a year?

[leftynyc]

30. Are you unaware that the vast

majority of those funds are used to buy American weapons? The money just comes right back here.

[DetlefK]

32. Which means, the US gives tax-payer money to the MIC and MIC gives weapons to Israel. To Repeat:

What does the US as a nation get as a profit in return for giving $4.5 billion in tax-payer money to the military-industrial complex and the MIC giving $4.5 billion in weapons to Israel?

[leftynyc]

34. Military intelligence

Technological intelligence and information, medical advances, military bases. You may not like that the MIC is part of the US economy (and VERY important to many individual districts) but that's irrelevant to this discussion. Anything else I can look up for you?

[DetlefK]

37. I doubt that those are worth several billions PER YEAR.

Technological and medical advances? How many billions is the US paying to Europe, Japan, South-Korea in exchange for technological and medical advances?

And if the billions of dollars are rent for the military-bases, then just say it.




It just strikes me as a very bad deal, born out of emotion rather than politics. Somebody started this and now nobody has the guts to question whether this makes sense.

[leftynyc]

40. That you question the

price tag of such information and technology is completely beyond the point. You asked, I answered. You don't like it, try electing someone who wants to stop it. Neither Clinton or Sanders will comply but knock yourself out.

I think this politico article on sums up the position of our Congress (who has the purse strings) in a nutshell:

snip:

On Monday, the House adopted a resolution condemning alleged anti-Israel and anti-Semitic incitement by the Palestinian Authority. "The House’s passage of this resolution sends an important signal that we’ll continue to support the democratic Jewish state of Israel during this difficult time and we will hold Palestinian leadership accountable for its destructive words and actions,” said Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.), a lead author. A similar effort is underway in the Senate.
Meanwhile, AIPAC, whose heavy lobbying against the Iran deal generated friction with Democrats, has been working with House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce (R-Calif.) and ranking member Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.), on a letter pegged to the violence. It is addressed to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and calls on him to stop "the unacceptable incitement to violence emanating from Palestinian Authority officials and institutions." As of Tuesday, 367 House members had signed on, including 144 Democrats, according to a copy obtained by POLITICO.


Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2015/11/israel-benjamin-netanyahu-washington-palestinians-215445#ixzz3qXS8LGDh

[wordpix]

35. MIC also benefits by selling weapons all over the ME

http://docs.house.gov/meetings/FA/FA13/20140909/102629/HHRG-113-FA13-Wstate-SchanzerJ-20140909.pdf

Qatar and Turkey get billion$ in US weapons. Latest Qatar deal alone is $11 billion in arms. Qatar is known financier of Hamas and our "good friend."

If we're going to sell arms to these countries, why not Israel, the main US base in the ME?

[DetlefK]

36. Because the US isn't "selling" them. The US is "donating" them to Israel.

[wordpix]

57. really? Where's the link on that?

[DetlefK]

59. I just summed up the above conversation.

Israel would use US-taxpayer-money to buy weapons from US-companies. How would you call that?

[wordpix]

60. the above conversation doesn't necessarily include top experts in this area

I am not in the know as to how the US gov. gives/sells weapons to Israel. I do know that Turkey and Qatar bought MIC weapons from US companies worth billion$, and Qatar is a major financier of Hamas. In that case, the US gov. approved the sales, but these nations did not get a gift. I would think it's the same for Israel.

[JI7]

50. peace (at least no war) between israel and egypt

[Stellar]

39. Getting back the money they spent on trying to derail the Iran nuclear deal?

The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) is throwing mountains of money around in an attempt to derail the Iran nuclear deal.

Mondoweiss reported in early August that AIPAC’s education wing was taking all but three freshmen House Representatives on a visit to Israel in hopes of sabotaging the US government’s negotiations with Iran.

A few days later, the New York Times picked up the story. It reported that 58 congresspeople—including 22 Democrats and 36 Republicans—in total would be traveling to Israel in August.

The Times also revealed just how much money AIPAC is hemorrhaging in hopes of stymieing the international diplomacy between the P5+1 (the US, the UK, France, China, and Russia, as well as Germany) and Iran.

In the first half of 2015, AIPAC spent approximately $1.7 million lobbying Congress to oppose the deal. Yet this is mere chump change compared to what it has since funneled into advertisements and lobbying.

- See more at: http://mondoweiss.net/2015/08/spending-estimated-million#sthash.V8lWr2rT.dpuf

[leftynyc]

41. Looks like it's working

On Monday, the House adopted a resolution condemning alleged anti-Israel and anti-Semitic incitement by the Palestinian Authority. "The House’s passage of this resolution sends an important signal that we’ll continue to support the democratic Jewish state of Israel during this difficult time and we will hold Palestinian leadership accountable for its destructive words and actions,” said Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.), a lead author. A similar effort is underway in the Senate.
Meanwhile, AIPAC, whose heavy lobbying against the Iran deal generated friction with Democrats, has been working with House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce (R-Calif.) and ranking member Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.), on a letter pegged to the violence. It is addressed to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and calls on him to stop "the unacceptable incitement to violence emanating from Palestinian Authority officials and institutions." As of Tuesday, 367 House members had signed on, including 144 Democrats, according to a copy obtained by POLITICO.


Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2015/11/israel-benjamin-netanyahu-washington-palestinians-215445#ixzz3qXS8LGDh


And mondoweiss? Seriously? Piece of crap website.

[Earth_First]

49. Oversized novelty check ceremony in the Rose Garden in 3...2... nt

[paul ofnoclique]

53. Can't believe I'm quoting Nancy Reagan, but

Just Say No.

[mahina]

62. Pshhhya right.

To Netanyahu I mean. Keep dreaming buddy.

[Marrah_G]

63. I wish Obama would tell him to go fuck himself

[Israeli]

65. You and me both ....

Kinda looks like he might be about to .....

Bad tidings await Netanyahu on US trip

On the eve of the prime minister's flight to Washington, sources in the White House warn that there will not be good tidings regarding Israel's compensation package for the Iran nuclear deal in his meeting with Obama, saying that Federal budget cuts are part of the issue.

Ynet
Published: 11.07.15, 20:32 / Israel News

Source : http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4722076,00.html