$14 Billion Aid Request for Israel expected to be approved

[justint]

From Haaretz

 

[novon]

And people wonder why there is so much turmoil in the MidEast

 

[NokiaDude]

Oh sh!t, he we go again. The US wants to spend money we DON'T HAVE!!! We could use that money toward OUR schools, OUR national debt. Screw Israel.

 

[bolido2000]

WTF? Don't they know the surplus is long gone

 

[UglyCasanova]

President George Bush is expected to quickly approve the request - $4 billion in defense aid. and U.S. guarantees for $10 billion - with minor changes, Israeli sources said.

Last week, Turkey and Jordan received generous American military aid of $2 billion to prepare for the possible war with Iraq.

Last week Washington approved Israel's annual military aid of $2.16 billion for 2004, and is expected to approve its civil aid soon.

Damn, I need to get in on this...

 

[BMdoobieW]

Bravo Mr. Bush! Give Israel money!

 

[NokiaDude]

Yeah, give Israel money to shoot down OUR fighter jets!!!!!!!

 

[justint]

Originally posted by: NokiaDude
Yeah, give Israel money to shoot down OUR fighter jets!!!!!!!

What???? WTF are you talking about??

 

[ultimatebob]

Originally posted by: NokiaDude
Oh sh!t, he we go again. The US wants to spend money we DON'T HAVE!!! We could use that money toward OUR schools, OUR national debt. Screw Israel.

Oh, I wouldn't worry about the money! They'll probably use most of the defense aid funding to buy some more weapons from US defense contractors, which they'll probably use to blow up some villages in the West Bank in retaliation for a suicide bomb attack. In a way, it's kind of like a Reagan-era economic stimulus package for weapons manufacturers.

 

[silverpig]

If dubya wants everyone to arm, and wants to foot the bill for it all, give some to Canada

 

[ThePresence]

Most of this money is a loan, not a gift. Loan guarantees just allow Israel to borrow money at a lower interest rate.

There is no cost to the United States if Israel repays the loans and Israel has never defaulted on a loan, the official said.

From FOXNEWS

 

[justint]

Originally posted by: ThePresence
Most of this money is a loan, not a gift. Loan guarantees just allow Israel to borrow money at a lower interest rate.

There is no cost to the United States if Israel repays the loans and Israel has never defaulted on a loan, the official said.

From FOXNEWS

The problem is that I am afraid that the Knesset and the government will use the loan guarantees to further increase government spending at a time when Israel really can't afford to increase spending. With no end to the war with Palestine in view the economy is only likely to continue to head downwards with a further economic shrinkage projected for next year.

 

[ThePresence]

Originally posted by: justint

Originally posted by: ThePresence
Most of this money is a loan, not a gift. Loan guarantees just allow Israel to borrow money at a lower interest rate.

There is no cost to the United States if Israel repays the loans and Israel has never defaulted on a loan, the official said.

From FOXNEWS

The problem is that I am afraid that the Knesset and the government will use the loan guarantees to further increase government spending at a time when Israel really can't afford to increase spending. With no end to the war with Palestine in view the economy is only likely to continue to head downwards with a further economic shrinkage projected for next year.

I believe this loan is intended to help Israel jump-start it's economy. Sure, there are always worries about what it may be spent on, but let's keep in mind, these are LOANS not gifts.

 

[masterxfob]

this just sucks ass........they're both fighting over something that neither one can prove, so why support either one of them? what's the difference between israelies and palestinians? i mean, they're all human, why would you offer support to one so that one could eliminate the other?

 

[Shockwave]

Originally posted by: ThePresence
Most of this money is a loan, not a gift. Loan guarantees just allow Israel to borrow money at a lower interest rate.

There is no cost to the United States if Israel repays the loans and Israel has never defaulted on a loan, the official said.

From FOXNEWS

How many loans have been forgiven? You cant default on something that has been nullified. I'm not saying ANY have been forgiven, but just something to think about.

 

[justint]

Originally posted by: masterxfob
this just sucks ass........they're both fighting over something that neither one can prove, so why support either one of them? what's the difference between israelies and palestinians? i mean, they're all human, why would you offer support to one so that one could eliminate the other?

Israelis have longstanding cultural ties to the United States. While it is not really objectively in our security interest to support them over the Arabs, it is long been understood by the people of the United States and successive governments that it is a moral and cultural imperative to support the Jewish state no matter the cost.

 

[justint]

The following site has a good breakdown of US assistance to Israel. The amount of military aid and the quantity of weapons directly sold, and financed is awesome when you look at the whole picture. Particularly striking is that over the last 50 years the US has transferred over 81 billion dollars to Israel primarily in the form of military aid. This does not include the significant amounts of military and economic aid paid to Egypt since the Camp David accords as a quid pro quo for making peace with Israel.

US Military and Economic Assistance to Israel

 

[justint]

Originally posted by: Shockwave

Originally posted by: ThePresence
Most of this money is a loan, not a gift. Loan guarantees just allow Israel to borrow money at a lower interest rate.

There is no cost to the United States if Israel repays the loans and Israel has never defaulted on a loan, the official said.

From FOXNEWS

How many loans have been forgiven? You cant default on something that has been nullified. I'm not saying ANY have been forgiven, but just something to think about.

The US very rarely loses out on loan guarantees and it is unlikely that Israel will default on these loans, although all bets are off if a peace with the Palestinians is not forthcoming.

 

[masterxfob]

Israelis have longstanding cultural ties to the United States. While it is not really objectively in our security interest to support them over the Arabs, it is long been understood by the people of the United States and successive governments that it is a moral and cultural imperative to support the Jewish state no matter the cost.

i'm fine with that, i know israelies have a lot of influence on politics and all.

i just cannot agree with the aid due to the fact that it allows israel to beef up their economy without having to stop all this nonsensical fighting. look at it this way, if israel's economy kept going down, wouldn't the government be forced to lower the 'defense' spending if it could not recieve 'aid' from anyone else?

the only thing that this 'aid' will bring, is the continued fighting between the israelies and the palestinians. all in all, the 'aid' is going to come at the cost of more human lives

 

[justint]

Originally posted by: masterxfob

Israelis have longstanding cultural ties to the United States. While it is not really objectively in our security interest to support them over the Arabs, it is long been understood by the people of the United States and successive governments that it is a moral and cultural imperative to support the Jewish state no matter the cost.

i'm fine with that, i know israelies have a lot of influence on politics and all.

i just cannot agree with the aid due to the fact that it allows israel to beef up their economy without having to stop all this nonsensical fighting. look at it this way, if israel's economy kept going down, wouldn't the government be forced to lower the 'defense' spending if it could not recieve 'aid' from anyone else?

the only thing that this 'aid' will bring, is the continued fighting between the israelies and the palestinians. all in all, the 'aid' is going to come at the cost of more human lives

This aid is not going to continue the fighting between the Israelis and Palestinians. The Israelis and Palestinians are going to continue the fighting between themselves. While the aid will make it easier for Israel to continue the war in the face of soaring deficiets and rising unemployment, they would find a way to continue fighting even without the extra money. Now if the regular 2+ billion dollars of military aid were suspended, that would be another matter as Israel depends on that money to maintain its huge superiority over the Arabs.

 

[justint]

EDIT: Although the original article did point this out, I want to clarify. The $14 billion is $3 billion in additional direct aid, $11 billion in loan guarantees. This is on top of the $3billion and change in direct aid Israel gets every year (not including weapons development funding which is seperate).

 

[masterxfob]

This aid is not going to continue the fighting between the Israelis and Palestinians. The Israelis and Palestinians are going to continue the fighting between themselves. While the aid will make it easier for Israel to continue the war in the face of soaring deficiets and rising unemployment, they would find a way to continue fighting even without the extra money. Now if the regular 2+ billion dollars of military aid were suspended, that would be another matter as Israel depends on that money to maintain its huge superiority over the Arabs.

we all know that the israelies and palestinians will continue to fight. the question is, if israel was not able to recieve the 'aid' they requested, wouldn't they sooner or later come to a position where they couldn't financially continue to fight? wouldn't they sooner or later come to their senses and realize that an agreement/treaty with the palestinians would be necessary to keep the country from poverty?

 

[m2kewl]

Originally posted by: NokiaDude
Oh sh!t, he we go again. The US wants to spend money we DON'T HAVE!!! We could use that money toward OUR schools, OUR national debt. Screw Israel.

that's what i say...it's like our annual welfare check of 3 billion still isn't enough. :frown:

 

[Bluefront]

Here's an idea...since the US government is so willing to give our tax dollars to foreign nations, I propose we only give those dollars to nations that have helped us in the past, or nations who could be useful to our own concerns in the future. Since Israel has never helped us, and since Israel has no oil reserves, I propose we cut our losses with them and stop flushing our tax dollars down this mid-eastern toilet.

 

[DanTMWTMP]

WTF....why give it to them?! shiet...freakin bullsh!t...phucking bush...

this is way too excessive..and guess what isreal's gonna spend this on..?! ....to kill more palestanians..give them more crap....and have them hate us more...it's an ongoing cycle..and bush is a total instigator...kick him out...