Posted on 08/21/2006 10:07:20 PM PDT by jdm
Washington has let Jerusalem know that for now Israel should not expect any financial aid to help defray the cost of the war in Lebanon, The Jerusalem Post has learned.
According to sources in Jerusalem, the government was considering requesting US aid - one report estimated a request of $2 billion - to help pay the cost of the war. There was talk in Washington of a large-scale financial package to help rebuild southern Lebanon, and in the process keep the Iranians out of the process. Israel was apparently hoping to fold its aid request into this package.
However, according to the sources, Washington has made it clear to Jerusalem that such aid for Israel is unlikely, even as US President George Bush on Monday announced a $230 million aid package for southern Lebanon.
"Things could change," the source said, "but right now this type of request would be like spitting into the wind."
Suggestions that Israel was going to ask for $2b. come in the wake of reports last summer that Israel was going to ask for a similar amount of aid from the Bush administration to pay some of the cost of disengagement from Gaza and the resettlement of the evacuees. That number was later trimmed down to $1b., and then in July, just before the disengagement began, Finance Minister director-general Yossi Bachar went to Washington and put in a request for $500 million.
Israel, however, shelved the request indefinitely following Hurricane Katrina last August that devastated New Orleans, amid the realization that the disaster caused billions of dollars of damage and that it would not look good at that time for Israel to be asking for hundreds of millions of dollars to help house its displaced population, when the US had its own displaced population to worry about.
In a related development, Globes reported that Washington had extended the US loan guarantees by three years until 2011. Israel has still not yet used $4.6 billion of the $9 billion program, which began in 2003, and - according to the paper - extending the program will make it easier for Israel to raise financing for the war in Lebanon on international markets.
Bush Urges Rapid Lebanon Deployment, Pledges More Aid (Update3)
By Roger Runningen and Judy Mathewson
"Aug. 21 (Bloomberg) -- President George W. Bush urged rapid deployment of a United Nations force to ensure stability in Lebanon and said the U.S. will increase aid to the war-torn nation to more than $230 million.
snip`
Bush said the additional financial aid he announced today is meant to help the Lebanese rebuild their homes, bridges, roads and schools.
``Our nation is wasting no time in helping the people of Lebanon,'' he said. Bush also said today he hopes Hezbollah will disarm ``over time.''
Bush said the U.S. will also send a cleanup team to help with a war-related oil spill polluting the Lebanese coast..."
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=aIjZG2y.3gbw&refer=us
well, given that they are public funds, they will have to go public with it one way or another.
Yep, and there will be a multinational force on the border too.
Thanks for the help, although it's evident you're the one that seems to need it.
I wonder how many schools Israel took out during this campaign.
That would be nice.
I can't be sure of much of anything concerning our relations with Israel except that we say we're still a big supporter of that nation.
The ceasefire arrangement was shameful IMO. We asked Israel to cease it's actions against Hezbollah even though it's well known that the training camps in the Bekkah Valley were not taken out.
The talk about the ceasefire was that a multi-nation taskforce of around 15 thousand would enter Southern Lebanon to disarm Hezbollah and institute a buffer. Now we find out that nobody is going to disarm Hezbollah, and the international forces are at present, non-existant.
The Lebanese army is to a certain degree infiltrated with Hezbollah sympathetic individuals. It's not going to be disarming Hezbollah, and if Hezbollah wants to institute hostilities, it's not going to stop them.
We signed on to this. You'll have to pardon me if I find that shameful. It causes me to question just how much support we're going to give Israel. I am not at all sure Israel is going to get rebuilding funds.
We announced Lebanon would get them right away.
While you may be right, I had to develop a wait and see attitude after the ceasefire agreement. I thought the U.S. was a stronger ally of Israel than that. It's made me question where our leaders are headed from here with regard to Israel.
We've been hit pretty hard by European opinion regarding Israel. I hope that isn't going to result in a moderation of our long standing support of Israel. That ceasefire made it look that way.
I don't think this is knee-jerk at all, but you're welcome to frame it that way if you like.
Later...
I believe you are correct . I stand corrected ( in thought)
Thank you
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