U.S. official: Obama won’t cut military aid to Israel
Given that the defense industry is very important in the US and many jobs depend on it, it is no surprise that Obama isn’t going to cut down on their contacts. Another reason to uphold the existing deal is that it also involves equal sales to Saudi Arabia.
There is no way that Hamas will accept the Quartets conditions unless those conditions are softened. The matter is very complicated. The US guy, Fayyad, has resigning and Abbas is without anything but US support. So what kind of Peace process does Obama administration want? Where can it go without Hamas or with it?
HAARETZ
By DPA
U.S. President Barack Obama will not cut the billions of dollars in military aid promised to Israel, a senior U.S. administration official said Wednesday.
The $30 billion in aid promised to Israel over the next decade will not be harmed by the world financial crisis, the official told Israel Radio. He spoke on condition of anonymity.
The Obama Administration however expects the next government of Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu to continue peace negotiations with the Palestinians, he said.
The increased military aid was promised to outgoing prime minister Ehud Olmert by then-under secretary of state for political affairs Nicholas Burns in August 2007.
Israel Radio also quoted the official as saying that if Hamas joins a Palestinian unity cabinet but does not accept the conditions of the Quartet of Middle East peace sponsors - the U.S., European Union, United Nations and Russia - the Obama Administration would have no dealings with that government.
The radical Islamist movement ruling Gaza is holding talks in Cairo with the secular Fatah party of moderate President Mahmoud Abbas and other factions on forming a unity government.
The talks in Cairo are a bid to reconcile between the rivaling factions, which have been locked in a bitter power struggle since Hamas beat Fatah in January 2006 elections and culminated in the Islamist group violently seizing sole control of Gaza in June 2007.
After the Hamas elections victory, the Quartet said it would boycott Hamas, unless it recognized Israel’s right to exist, endorsed past interim peace deals calling for a two-state solution to the conflict, and renounced violence.
In other words, he wants Bibi to continue the farce. Our Presidents have such a dedication to theater! They all ought to be on Broadway.
Comment by BlandOatmeal — March 11, 2009 @ 11:41 pm
The military aid package to Israel was a precondition for selling 30 billion or more to the Saudis, Egyptians and gulf states. That aid allowed Bush to sign unchallenged nuke technology and a reactor deal to the Saudis. Anyway ten years is a long time and many changes can happen in the interim. I still think if Israel decides not to play ball, Obama will play with promised aid and or parts and or delays etc. I hope Israel decides not to play ball with Obama.
Comment by yamit82 — March 12, 2009 @ 10:26 am
There are posts in the Atlantic by Andrew Sullivan questioning why Israel receives so much in military assistance compared to other allies.
It is an important question and deserves a detailed answer. Since the beginning of large scale military assistance with the airlift in 1973,
there were big wins for American foreign policy: the split between Egypt and the Soviet Union; the peace treaty between Israel and Egypt;
no large scale wars involving Israel since 1973 (here we need to remember that the Lebanon war in 1982 was far smaller in scale); peace between
Israel and Jordan; and finally widespread acceptance in the Arab world that peace with Israel is possible and desirable.
Were the American military aid to Israel to be cut, it would be a signal to the entire Middle East to start preparations for the liberation
of Palestine, and it would be only a matter of a few years before the next round of trying to kick the Jews into the sea.
I think Jews everywhere should be grateful to the Obama administration for continuing the assistance and do our part in explaining why it is
essential for maintaining peace - because all the troubles in the Middle East now are peace compared to a really big war.
Comment by Avi from moshav Melilot — March 14, 2009 @ 3:10 pm