Posted on 05/21/2010 12:20:43 AM PDT by ErnstStavroBlofeld
The US House of Representatives on Thursday overwhelmingly backed President Barack Obama's plans to help Israel deploy an anti-missile system, in an unmistakable election-year show of support.
By a 410-4 margin, lawmakers endorsed Obama's plan to give Israel 205 million dollars for its production of a short-range rocket defense system called "Iron Dome."
"With nearly every square inch of Israel at risk from rocket and missile attacks, we must ensure that our most important ally in the region has the tools to defend itself," said House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Howard Berman.
"The looming threat of a nuclear-armed Iran, and the persistent threat posed by Iran's allies Hamas and Hezbollah, only serve to reinforce our longstanding commitment to Israel's security," the California Democrat added.
Israel completed tests in January on its Iron Dome system, designed to intercept short-range rockets and artillery shells fired at Israel by Hamas and Hezbollah.
The next phase is to integrate the system into the army. Israel hopes the Iron Dome will help counter rocket fire from the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip and from Lebanon.
Palestinian militants have fired thousands of home-made rockets into southern Israel, prompting Israel's devastating assault on the Islamist Hamas in Gaza on December 27, 2008.
The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah also fired some 4,000 rockets into northern Israel during a 2006 war with Israel. The group is believed to have an arsenal of some 40,000 rockets
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When are they going to get the message — STOP the SPENDING?? My grandkids are already broke and they haven’t even been thought of yet.
This is to help an ally to develop their missile defense system from being wiped off the map by Hezbollah and Hamas. Remember, Hezbollah has 40,000 to 80,000 missiles pointed at Israel.
In any case, 200 Million, compared to the 3 TRILLION dollars of deficit already piled up by the Dims equals... let's see...
.0006% of that.
All Good Points.There is a long history of technology information sharing between the U.S. and Israel. The Arrow ABM system the IDF has deployed was developed by a joint US-Israel effort.
If you’d like to be on or off, please FR mail me.
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I understand what you’re saying. I have a great respect for Israel and want to help them as much as we can, but we’re already stretched to less than paper thin. And sure, the borrowed money that we’ve already spent went to a majority of unproductive uses. Right now it’s something we have to live with because with the power structure in place that condition is unlikely to change.
Taking the tact that Dems have been throwing so much money we don’t have around it’s ok to throw more of it around as long as it’s thrown where we’d like to see it thrown does not change the debt reality we face or the burden we’re placing on the future. The financial insanity has to stop somewhere and I wish it was right here and right now.
I respect your concerns, but still support the Iron Dome. Seeing Israel bombed into submission is unacceptable to me.
410 Democrats and Republicans seems to agree that the defense of Israel and its citizens are important.
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