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Enough is Enough: It's Time to Cut Israel Loose
Yahoo Op/Ed ^ | Fri Apr 26, 2002 8:02 PM ET | Ted Rall

Posted on 04/28/2002 11:36:01 AM PDT by jern

By Ted Rall

It's Time to Cut Israel Loose

by Ted Rall

NEW YORK-First, let's get this straight: no nation enjoys a "right to exist." Countries are created by people killing other people who used to live in a place; countries continue to exist as long as their citizens are willing to kill other people to keep them the hell out. Thus, the U.S. exists.

And so does Israel.

Arab countries' newfound willingness to acknowledge the fact of Israel's existence in exchange for steps towards a Palestinian state is nice but ultimately inconsequential. Israel is, period. Who cares whether or not it has the right to exist? Rand McNally doesn't determine nationhood. Force does.

As long as the United States continues to pour in $3 billion a year in aid-more than the total for all other nations combined-Israel will continue to thrive. (By comparison, war-torn Afghanistan (news - web sites) is only slated to get $300 million next year.) As for the willingness to kill other guys to keep them out...well, that's the trouble.

Right-wing extremist Ariel Sharon (news - web sites) has unleashed a horrific onslaught upon Gaza and the West Bank that has left all but the most hardened pro-Israel hawks disgusted. An April 17th Pew Research Center poll shows public support for Israel down to 42 percent in the wake of Sharon's latest incursion.

Sharon's shock troops are using the same tactics-reprisal assassinations, torture, demolitions and mass arrests-that most Israelis' parents and grandparents witnessed as victims of the Third Reich. And we're subsidizing it all.

Strategy and Geopolitics

"Israel, like any country in the world, has the right to defend itself against the cruel terror perpetrated against it from centers of terror located only several kilometers from its population centers," Sharon said April 7th. But with five Palestinians dying for every murdered Israeli, the self-defense argument is falling on increasingly deaf American ears. It's not working, either-the more Sharon retaliates, the more dead Israelis he has to retaliate for.

Sharon's excessive use of force is causing an increasing number of Americans to wonder whether it's time to cut off aid and let both sides slog it out.

It is hard to tell, from a realpolitik standpoint, why we spend so much money on such a sandy waste. "Israel...is a good friend of the United States-one of the best friends we will ever have," House majority leader Dick Armey reiterated April 15th. Yet Israel neither possesses natural resources nor geographically separates us from those of another country. Because of its status as a Jewish state, it almost never contributes troops to American-led military operations, many of which take place in Muslim nations these days. Love it or hate it, U.S. support for Israel is pretty much a one-way deal.

Israel's 5.7 million people live on a plot of sun-bleached rocks the size of New Jersey. Our unconditional support for this tiny country offends hundreds of millions of Muslims spanning the globe from Saudi Arabia to the Philippines, whose countries possess the vast majority of the globe's energy resources. The U.S.-Israeli alliance also provides endless fodder to radical Islamists currently planning the next 9-11. In short, Israel is arguably the greatest single geopolitical liability to the security and economy of the United States.

Our Moral Obligation

Doing good, however, doesn't always mean doing well. The Truman Administration was primarily responsible for the 1948 U.N. mandate that created a fledgling Israel surrounded by hostile enemies. Both the legacy of the Holocaust and the continuing poison of anti-Semitism requires a state where the world's Jews can go to feel safe. To hell with all that Arab oil-don't we have a moral obligation to support the only working democracy in the Middle East in the face of incessant terrorist attacks?

We do owe Israel our support, but not $3 billion a year. U.S. backing began with Israel's creation, lasted through several wars and continued through more than a half-century of generous gifts of cash and state-of-the-art military hardware. As a result, Israel is-unlike its neighbors-a modern, technologically-advanced First World country with European-class infrastructure. If U.S. financial assistance were to end the second you read this, the Israeli army and air force would nevertheless remain the region's best-armed and best-trained for many years to come.

Let the Bird Leave the Nest

That outsized military and economic advantage ensures that the current war-that-won't-speak-its-name between Israel and the Palestinian Authority (news - web sites) would continue for the foreseeable future. American-made fighter jets and helicopter gunships would continue to rain death on the West Bank; born-to-lose Arab teens would still blow themselves up in Israeli markets. Nothing much would change, but at least the U.S. would no longer be intimately implicated in the carnage-and we'd save a huge amount of money in the bargain.

Anyone who has visited the Middle East can't help but be impressed by the energy, intelligence and resolve of the Israeli people. An end to American subsidies would force them to deal with such long-standing structural problems as high unemployment, systemic constitutional tensions and demographic trends that threaten to turn their country into a Jewish state with a Jewish minority.

Independence from Washington doesn't have to lead to Arafat's fantasy of pushing Israel into the sea. A cut in U.S. subsidies could be phased out gradually, perhaps over the next ten years. More importantly, the U.S. should sign a mutual defense treaty committing to come to Israel's aid in the event of an invasion. Independence shouldn't equal abandonment, and support shouldn't equal international welfare.

(Ted Rall's new book, a graphic travelogue about his recent coverage of the Afghan war titled "To Afghanistan and Back," hits stores this week. Ordering and review-copy information are available at nbmpub.com.)


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Foreign Affairs; Front Page News; Government; Israel; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: arielsharon; authority; israel; middleeast; palestinian; tedrall; washington
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To: RWCon
Ted Rall has expressed intense anti-Americanism as well as anti-Semitism. A loathsome character.
21 posted on 04/28/2002 12:47:46 PM PDT by vance
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To: RWCon
This is typical of the paranoia exhibited by the pro-Israel people on this forum. They are so ready to scream antisemitism.

And yours is a typical comment from self righteous types who say "paranoia" in the face of direct evidence of it's fact.

22 posted on 04/28/2002 12:48:06 PM PDT by Nachum
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To: Nachum
Israel gets about 2.8 Billion vs 2.2 Billion for Egypt. http://www.americans-world.org/digest/regional_issues/Israel&Palestinians/IsrEgyptAid.cfm
23 posted on 04/28/2002 12:49:40 PM PDT by Toddsterpatriot
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To: Toddsterpatriot
Israel gets about 2.8 Billion vs 2.2 Billion for Egypt.

http://www.americans-world.org/digest/regional_issues/Israel&Palestinians/IsrEgyptAid.cfm

24 posted on 04/28/2002 12:52:13 PM PDT by Toddsterpatriot
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To: Nachum
I thought egypt got one billion.

They've been getting $2.0 to $2.1 billion the last few years, about 2/3 military, 1/3 economic. Jordan gets about $225 million and the PA aroud $100 million+.

This article is so filled with misinformation it's not worth responding to.

25 posted on 04/28/2002 12:53:47 PM PDT by SJackson
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To: Toddsterpatriot
If you add up the money that goes to all the arab states in the middle east you will find that the total is far more than Israel.
26 posted on 04/28/2002 12:54:07 PM PDT by OldFriend
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To: jern
To me the Jews are just as "Palestinian" as any one who has lived in this land that the Roman Empire called Palestine. What are the requirements to become Palestinian? To be kicked out of Jordan and hate Jews? For that matter isn't Jordan part of Palestine? Looks like it on my 2000 year-old map.
27 posted on 04/28/2002 12:55:21 PM PDT by AdA$tra
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To: Toddsterpatriot, SJackson
Thanks
28 posted on 04/28/2002 12:56:19 PM PDT by Nachum
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To: dighton
Some background on Ted Rall...who offends the planet, but squeals like a stuck pig when he is on the receiving end. Scroll down page for Rall info.
29 posted on 04/28/2002 12:56:22 PM PDT by veronica
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To: OldFriend
The billions we spend to protect the Saudi's and Kuwait from their Arab brothers does add up, doesn't. They're grateful, though.
30 posted on 04/28/2002 12:57:14 PM PDT by SJackson
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To: SJackson
Egypt,Jordan, Saudi, Kuwait, and all the little countries in between........surely does add up......but those who hate Israel are so blinded they can't see.
31 posted on 04/28/2002 1:02:00 PM PDT by OldFriend
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To: ABrit
An Israel that is nuclear capable and conventionally weak would actually be a more stable situation. If invaded it would make the nuclear response the only answer. Are you going to invade a country with conventional weapons if you know you will be nuked? Israel also posseses neutron bombs than can be used for very close in fighting against an overwhelming force.

The road to peace in Israel is not that difficult. Israel should go back to 1967 borders. Israel should pull all settlements out of the West Bank. Israel should expell all Palestinians that are suspect of not being loyal to Israel (they must be compensated fairly for their property and jobs). A Berlin type wall should be erected between Israel and the Palestinian State on the West Bank. If a Palestinian tries to cross the wall illegally he must be shot. If a Jew tries to illegally cross the wall into the Palestinian State he must be shot.

The hatred between the two peoples is to great to bridge in the near future. With a weakened conventional force but strong nuclear force the State enemies (Iraq, Iran, Syria) know that a conventional attack against Israel would result in the absolute and total destruction of the attacker as Israel would have no other choice. If attacked with Nuclear weapons Israel has 3 modern nuclear armed subs. These subs would destroy the attacker even if the State of Israel no longer existed.

32 posted on 04/28/2002 1:03:53 PM PDT by cpdiii
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To: jern
As long as the United States continues to pour in $3 billion a year in aid-more than the total for all other nations combined

I've just spent the last hour trying to get definitive numbers on the actual total dollars the US puts into foreign aid.

It's difficult, because the answer depends heavily on exactly what expenditures you do or don't include in the category "foreign aid".

However, the LOWEST figure given by any group was $10 billion. The more common number I ran across was in the range of $14-15 billion. Some organizations cite $20+ billion.

And most of those figures came from groups whining about how the US should give "more" money to foreign aid, so if anything, they'd be likely to *undercount* the actual amount of US foreign aid, in order to make a stronger case that we're not currently giving "enough" (for example, www.oneworld.org, and www.globalissues.org).

But using *any* of these figures, the claim that the $3 billion the US sends to Israel is "more than the total for all other nations combined" is simply ludicrous.

33 posted on 04/28/2002 1:05:17 PM PDT by Dan Day
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To: OldFriend
If you add up the money that goes to all the arab states in the middle east you will find that the total is far more than Israel.

Yeah, like I said, Rall is a typical socialist, can't add for sh!t.

34 posted on 04/28/2002 1:05:40 PM PDT by Toddsterpatriot
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To: Nachum
bingo
35 posted on 04/28/2002 1:08:14 PM PDT by Maelstrom
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To: jern
This is exactly the worst kind of thinking. Following Rall's ideas will gain the US no respect at all. That this is even being advocated by Rall is an expression of the success of Arafat's terror campaign. Abandoning Israel would only increase the call for the march to Spain.
36 posted on 04/28/2002 1:32:04 PM PDT by swarthyguy
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To: jern
Enough is Enough: It's Time to Cut Israel Loose

Great plan, let's just throw the Israelis to the wolves. Policies of appeasement sure worked for Europe. World Wars I and II happened because they didn't reach their full doormat potential.

37 posted on 04/28/2002 1:51:17 PM PDT by Excuse_My_Bellicosity
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To: Nachum
Either way, it's too much. I say we give no countries in the Middle East foreign aid. If Israel wants to buy weapons from us to defend themselves from their neighbors, sell them the weapons. If Saudi Arabia wants more jets, we tell them no. Simple.
38 posted on 04/28/2002 2:12:57 PM PDT by dr_who
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To: Toddsterpatriot
Don't forget the 59 refugee camps that have been scattered through the region since 1948. The US, the EU, and the UK supply all the money for them with the exception of two Arab states, Saudi and Kuwait who supply .5% and .6%. That's tenths of a per cent

The people who live there who hate and despise the West don't even know where their money, homes and other infastucture come from, because we send the money through the UN who rubber stamps it and they are told that is where the money comes from. Aren't we clever?

39 posted on 04/28/2002 2:20:06 PM PDT by mississippi red-neck
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To: Nachum
I must just be stupid. But i think its pretty clear when anti-semitism is involved in a call to quit supporting israel. And i didnt see it in this article.
40 posted on 04/28/2002 2:26:52 PM PDT by zeromus
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