U.S. Cuts More Than $200 Million In Aid To Palestinians

[UglyCasanova]

https://www.npr.org/2018/08/24/641689522/u-s-cuts-more-than-200-million-in-aid-to-palestinians

The Trump administration announced Friday that it has cut nearly all the money the U.S. had planned to spend on aid projects for the Palestinians this year —including money to address a humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip.

Administration officials repeatedly state that the U.S. has given more development aid money to help the Palestinian people over the years than has any other country.

But on Friday, the State Department said money to be spent by the end of this fiscal year — which ends Sept. 30 — will now be redirected to "high-priority projects elsewhere." That's a cut of more than $200 million.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo reportedly opposed the cuts at first, according to Foreign Policy, but earlier this month Trump adviser Jared Kushner "pushed back, maintaining that ending the assistance outright could strengthen his negotiating hand when he introduces his long-awaited Middle East peace plan."

I didn’t realize Jared was still working on this. Amazing just how much Israel has us by the balls. Crazy.

I think foreign aid gets us waaaaay more dollar for dollar in terms of safety etc by spreading goodwill than building another bomber ever could. I wish more politicians saw it this way.

Palestinian officials accuse the U.S. of cutting money for needy Palestinians in order to coerce their leaders into accepting U.S. proposals for a peace deal with Israel.

"The U.S. administration is demonstrating the use of cheap blackmail as a political tool," Palestinian official Hanan Ashrawi said late Friday. "The Palestinian people and leadership will not be intimidated and will not succumb to coercion."

Oh heavens. Screw Israel and screw the Palestinian leadership too.

 

[Puffnstuff]

Amazing just how much Israel has us by the balls.

This is why we do it.
◄ Genesis 12 ►
New International Version
The Call of Abram
1The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.
2“I will make you into a great nation,
and I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
and you will be a blessing.a
3I will bless those who bless you,
and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth
will be blessed through you.”b

 

[brycejones]

This is why we do it.
◄ Genesis 12 ►
New International Version
The Call of Abram
1The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.
2“I will make you into a great nation,
and I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
and you will be a blessing
3I will bless those who bless you,
and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth
will be blessed through you.”b

And also because the extreme right believes that through Israel we bring about the second coming if we can get all the Jews there.

 

[1prophet]

The only reason westerners care about Palestinians is because of the effects of the oil embargoes that were used as political weapons against western support of Israel, if Palestinians were some place in Africa no one heard of - few if any would care.
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/opec-states-declare-oil-embargo

In the middle of 1973, even before the OPEC embargo, an American oil crisis was on the horizon: Domestic reserves were low (about 52 billion barrels, a 10-year supply); the United States was importing about 27 percent of the crude petroleum it needed every year; and gasoline prices were rising.

The 1973 war with Israel made things even worse. OPEC announced that it would punish Israel’s allies by implementing production cuts of 5 percent a month until that nation withdrew from the occupied territories and restored the rights of the Palestinians. It also declared that the true “enemies” of the Arab cause (in practice, this turned out to mean the United States and the Netherlands) would be subject to an indefinite “total embargo.”

Traditionally, per-barrel prices had been set by the oil companies themselves, but in December, OPEC announced that from then on, its members would set their own prices on the petroleum they exported. As a result, the price of a barrel of oil went up to $11.65, 130 percent higher than it had been in October and 387 percent higher than it had been the year before.

Domestic oil prices increased too, but shortages persisted. People waited for hours in long lines at gas stations—at some New Jersey pumps, lines were four miles long!–and by the time the embargo ended in March 1974, the average retail price of gas had climbed to 84 cents per gallon from 38 cents per gallon.

Sales of smaller, more fuel-efficient cars skyrocketed. At the same time, declining demand for the big, heavy gas-guzzlers that most American car companies were producing spelled disaster for the domestic auto industry.

 

[allisolm]

What do Facebook Twitter Flipboard Email have to do with this?

 

[UglyCasanova]

Edit: just saw it, edited title thx

 

[s0me0nesmind1]

https://www.npr.org/2018/08/24/641689522/u-s-cuts-more-than-200-million-in-aid-to-palestinians

I think foreign aid gets us waaaaay more dollar for dollar in terms of safety etc by spreading goodwill than building another bomber ever could. I wish more politicians saw it this way.
.

You sure about that statement? It seems logical on paper, but often times it doesn't seem to help with cases like civil wars.

Hell, it seems like were going to have more conflicts than ever world wide that we will need to put our foot in. Venezuela, Yemen, Syria, Mexico drug war intensifying, Iraq, Palestine/Isreal, South Africa, Pakistan/India... and simply too many to even name in other African countries. Oh and Turkey now possibly about to be a shitstorm.

On top of that, the influx of migration into European countries and [Potentially] the US are just making for more conflicts locally (whether you think it's a good thing or bad thing). Obviously it's not all good - considering Europe is paying Turkey a shitton in an attempt to say "Please! No more... we can't handle it".

At a certain point, handing these countries money is equivalent to just handing them weapons at the same time.... And we all know the videos of seeing ISIS fighters with american weapons.

So really, I don't think it's a clear cut answer. I don't know if simply handing these countries cash is really doing all that much for the greater good. I agree with you that building more bombers and stuff isn't the answer. However, other military operations that are cheaper such as drones, spying equipment, and computer security related stuff could be very valueable. Imagine if we could kill every high ranking ISIS fighter that does their strategy, recruiting, etc... on a whim. That would be powerful. Armies are useless without a knowledgeable commander. They are basically chickens with their heads cut off.

 

[s0me0nesmind1]

The only reason westerners care about Palestinians is because of the effects of the oil embargoes that were used as political weapons against western support of Israel, if Palestinians were some place in Africa no one heard of - few if any would care.
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/opec-states-declare-oil-embargo

Why would we care now that we're outproducing our own supply at this point? Europe might care, but why would we really at this point?

 

[Vic]

This is why we do it.
◄ Genesis 12 ►
New International Version
The Call of Abram
1The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.
2“I will make you into a great nation,
and I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
and you will be a blessing.a
3I will bless those who bless you,
and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth
will be blessed through you.”b

Palestinians, along with other Arab peoples, are descended from Abraham too (according to the Bible).

 

[Josephus312]

You sure about that statement? It seems logical on paper, but often times it doesn't seem to help with cases like civil wars.

Hell, it seems like were going to have more conflicts than ever world wide that we will need to put our foot in. Venezuela, Yemen, Syria, Mexico drug war intensifying, Iraq, Palestine/Isreal, South Africa, Pakistan/India... and simply too many to even name in other African countries. Oh and Turkey now possibly about to be a shitstorm.

On top of that, the influx of migration into European countries and [Potentially] the US are just making for more conflicts locally (whether you think it's a good thing or bad thing). Obviously it's not all good - considering Europe is paying Turkey a shitton in an attempt to say "Please! No more... we can't handle it".

At a certain point, handing these countries money is equivalent to just handing them weapons at the same time.... And we all know the videos of seeing ISIS fighters with american weapons.

So really, I don't think it's a clear cut answer. I don't know if simply handing these countries cash is really doing all that much for the greater good. I agree with you that building more bombers and stuff isn't the answer. However, other military operations that are cheaper such as drones, spying equipment, and computer security related stuff could be very valueable. Imagine if we could kill every high ranking ISIS fighter that does their strategy, recruiting, etc... on a whim. That would be powerful. Armies are useless without a knowledgeable commander. They are basically chickens with their heads cut off.

You get radicals when you get people without hope, they then turn to the only thing left which is violence and extremist religious views to feel that there is something they can do. If I can't feed my kids and I have you to blame for it I'm going to fuck you up.

The influx of migration into EU countries makes them a whopping 3.2% of the total population and the main reason for that migration is our policies in the ME, perhaps if we stopped doing that things would work out better and there would be less extremists that want each and every one of us dead?

Nah, too simple, better to just keep going.

 

[killster1]

If we cut more than 200 million how many million do we still send? does anyone think possibly they will use the money to buy bombs and hurt Israel? Sounds like a good idea to cut aid to everywhere and just put that money into some kinda satellite surveillance to make everyone accountable for things

 

[GagHalfrunt]

I think foreign aid gets us waaaaay more dollar for dollar in terms of safety etc by spreading goodwill than building another bomber ever could. I wish more politicians saw it this way.

I think bribing people to temporarily pretend they don't want to kill us has been a complete and utter failure. We've pumped more money into that part of the world than any other country has and it's bought us nothing.

 

[Josephus312]

I think bribing people to temporarily pretend they don't want to kill us has been a complete and utter failure. We've pumped more money into that part of the world than any other country has and it's bought us nothing.

Yeah, we've always been treating them oh so very well, they are just pissed at us for no reason what so ever.

Paying off dictators, making weapon deals with dictators, going to war with dictators is not "pumping money into that part of the world" in any form that actually helps people.

All in all I'd say with all the weapon deals we have gotten a lot more out of the situation monetarily, especially since it helps us ship money out of the government funds into the pockets of the stock owners in congress.

And who doesn't think that is a great idea?

 

[ivwshane]

You get radicals when you get people without hope, they then turn to the only thing left which is violence and extremist religious views to feel that there is something they can do. If I can't feed my kids and I have you to blame for it I'm going to fuck you up.

The influx of migration into EU countries makes them a whopping 3.2% of the total population and the main reason for that migration is our policies in the ME, perhaps if we stopped doing that things would work out better and there would be less extremists that want each and every one of us dead?

Nah, too simple, better to just keep going.

Shortsightedness is a staple of American foreign policy, why change now?

 

[Josephus312]

Shortsightedness is a staple of American foreign policy, why change now?

Exactly, it's worked so well for everyone who got their pockets lined with the wonderful defence spending and weapon deals.

This is why the Warren bill is needed.

 

[GagHalfrunt]

Yeah, we've always been treating them oh so very well, they are just pissed at us for no reason what so ever.

How were the Palestinians treated when Egypt had control of that area? You think they're mad at us because we're not giving them enough money and another $200 million will magically change things? No human being could possibly be that stupid.

 

[Vic]

I think bribing people to temporarily pretend they don't want to kill us has been a complete and utter failure. We've pumped more money into that part of the world than any other country has and it's bought us nothing.

The Palestinians don't want to kill us, nor do they even remotely have the capability to do so even if they did.
And in case you missed it, the argument was that foreign aid costs less money, and achieves a more fruitful result, than does dropping bombs.

 

[UglyCasanova]

The Palestinians don't want to kill us, nor do they even remotely have the capability to do so even if they did.
And in case you missed it, the argument was that foreign aid costs less money, and achieves a more fruitful result, than does dropping bombs.

Nah they want to kill Israelis and the Israelis want to kill them too. They have the capability, all it takes is a vehicle. I’m not sure there’s ever gonna be peace over there.

I do stand by my statement earlier that foreign aid is a good thing, a much more worthwhile investment than more military buildup. It may not be helpful in this case, I don’t know enough to know.

 

[feralkid]

I think bribing people to temporarily pretend they don't want to kill us has been a complete and utter failure. We've pumped more money into that part of the world than any other country has and it's bought us nothing.

Nothing that YOU can imagine, perhaps.

 

[Vic]

Nah they want to kill Israelis and the Israelis want to kill them too. They have the capability, all it takes is a vehicle. I’m not sure there’s ever gonna be peace over there.

I do stand by my statement earlier that foreign aid is a good thing, a much more worthwhile investment than more military buildup. It may not be helpful in this case, I don’t know enough to know.

At this point, it looks like peace is going to be achieved there by the Israelis' successful genocide of the Palestinians.
I agree that foreign aid is probably more cost effective than military intervention, but IMO a better alternative is to help people to be more self-sufficient. Unfortunately for the Palestinians, the Israelis have made self-sufficiency impossible for them.

 

[UglyCasanova]

help people to be more self-sufficient

I absolutely agree and that should be the goal of foreign aid. Also important to make sure it actually goes to what it’s intebd for and not just making their politicians and military rich, difficult to do though. Building goodwill is a very valuable thing

 

[woolfe9998]

At this point, it looks like peace is going to be achieved there by the Israelis' successful genocide of the Palestinians.
I agree that foreign aid is probably more cost effective than military intervention, but IMO a better alternative is to help people to be more self-sufficient. Unfortunately for the Palestinians, the Israelis have made self-sufficiency impossible for them.

How is "genocide" achieved when a population is allowed to grow at an average 2.4% yearly as it was the Palestinians? Kind of sounds like the Israelis are the most incompetent genocideers the world has ever known.

 

[Josephus312]

How were the Palestinians treated when Egypt had control of that area? You think they're mad at us because we're not giving them enough money and another $200 million will magically change things? No human being could possibly be that stupid.

We're discussing the ME which is quite a bit larger than the tiny Palestinian areas. Try to keep up, buttercup.

The Palestinians are angry over bullshit, that much is true and I find myself not having much support for them at all.

Arabs are angry with us because we keep bombing the everliving shit out of their kids, mothers, brothers, sisters an fathers. I don't blame them in the least.

And yes, those who see how much is going to Israel and then that what little went to them was withdrawn will inevitably be angry about that.

Are you a sociopath? Why do I have to explain this to you? Are you completely devoid of empathy?

 

[Ventanni]

The PA has been the recipient of many billions of dollars over the last 20 years from various countries with what now seems like very little or nothing to show for it. What has happened to that money is up for debate:

1. The Palestinians are squandering the donated money through corruption
2. The Israelis are destroying the investment projects through military means

You can make a case for either. After thinking about this, I realized that at the end of the day, these two countries are going to have to learn to live with each other. Israel needs to stop its heavy-handedness, and Palestine needs to stop trying to wipe Israel off the face of the earth.

War is the greatest hindrance to economic progress. So stop trying to make war!

 

[greatnoob]

How is "genocide" achieved when a population is allowed to grow at an average 2.4% yearly as it was the Palestinians? Kind of sounds like the Israelis are the most incompetent genocideers the world has ever known.

Your wording makes it sound like you think Palestinians are a sort of killable and replenishable food source. Surely you know theyre human and not carp. Maybe theyve been this dehumanised to you and the fundie Christian who liked your post.