Saturday, January 2, 2010

What Your US Aid Dollars Buy

This is not a partisan issue, as both parties are guilty of this travesty.

IsraelAid Just before Christmas, the US President, Barack Obama, signed into law one of his country's biggest aid pledges of the year. It was bound not for Africa or any of the many struggling countries on the World Bank's list.

It was a deal for $US2.77 billion ($3 billion) to go to Israel in 2010 and a total of $US30 billion over the next decade.

Israel is bound by the agreement to use 75 per cent of the aid to buy military hardware made in the US: in the crisis-racked US economy, those military factories are critical to many towns.

For the first time the US is also providing $US500 million to the Palestinian Authority, including $US100 million to train security forces, under the strict proviso that the authority's leadership recognises Israel.

For many years Israel has been the largest recipient of US foreign aid, followed by Egypt ($US1.75 billion), which also receives most of its assistance in tied military aid.

The Congressional Research Service says that the US spent 17 per cent of its total aid budget - or $US5.1 billion - on military aid in 2008, of which $US4.7 billion was grants to enable governments to receive equipment from the US… [emphasis added]

Inserted from <Common Dreams>

First, with so many people are suffering right here at home, should we be sending aid to the nation with the best living standard in their region?  Should not all our aid be humanitarian?  This is just a scam to transfer money from taxpayers to rich corporate military contractors.

What makes this particularly horrific is that Israel needs to use the bombs, shells and mines they buy in order to justify the continuation of the aid.  Look at the embedded graphic.  This is what your tax dollars are buying.

8 comments:

the walking man said...

Israel is just as complicit in the purchase of our government as the Chinese.

Lisa G. said...

Tying that aid to the purchase of military hardware is just like saying 'It's ok to bomb the shit out of the Palestinians.' I'm telling you, I'm gonna go over there with the mom voice and it ain't gonna be pretty!

TomCat said...

Amen to both of you. Sic'em Lisa!!

Oso said...

Go Lisa !
I fear the mom voice and I'm on your side. I can only imagine what havoc you would wreak over there !

TomCat said...

Amenagain!

Jerilyn said...

I wonder if that money gets taken from education like everything else.

Kevin said...

I could imagine this type of foreign aid be considered as a form of back-door pork...

I had always wondered what would occur had these nations not received American aid... maybe give these other nations, such as Israel, a push into more diplomatic measures because they lack the American tools and money...

TomCat said...

Truth, once again your analysis is right on target.

Jeri, one GOP motto is Every penny spent on public education is a penny we can't spend on a millionaire.

Kevin, I have often said that cuttong off military aid to Israel would be the best chance for middle east peace.