Posted on 01/13/2013 7:10:43 AM PST by SeekAndFind
It is “none of our business” whether Israel builds new neighborhoods in east Jerusalem or withdraws from the Golan Heights, and the US should not tell Israel how to defend itself, US Sen. (RKentucky) said on Saturday night at the end of a week-long visit to the country.
Paul, a maverick libertarian senator known for his advocacy of slashing US foreign aid, said at a press briefing that the issue of cutting aid to Israel – something he advocates as part of a gradual process – did not come up during his meetings with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu or President Shimon Peres.
Paul said that he was not interested in the message of his trip being that he came here “touting and spouting” cutting aid to Israel.
“I came here to show that I am supportive of the relationship between Israel and America,” he said.
The first-term senator’s anti-foreign aid approach does concern some pro-Israel advocates in the US, concerned that he wants to significantly trim Washington’s annual $3 billion in military aid to Jerusalem.
“The biggest threat to our nation right now is our debt,” said Paul, adding that a bankrupt America would not be a good ally for Israel. “This does mean that we have to reassess who to give aid to, and when we do reassess that, I would begin with countries that are burning our flag and chanting ‘Death to America.’ No one is accusing Israel of that.”
Paul said he was not talking about anything different than what Netanyahu said in a 1996 speech to Congress, in which he advocated Israel gradually weaning itself off of American aid dollars.
This would benefit Israel and its defense industry, because it would not have to buy all its weaponry from the US,
(Excerpt) Read more at jpost.com ...
“none of our business” that should be said in regard to the vast majority of what we do overseas.
The US has done everything humanly and politically possible to stop Israel from sliding out from beneath its thumb. It has pulled the rug out from under Israel several times and under clinton, even stole a weapons system that Israel developed and had been testing here because they had no room to test it in their own small country.
Rand Paul is right on target.
This would benefit Israel and its defense industry, because it would not have to buy all its weaponry from the USNo, in fact, it wouldn't, because the aid to Israel is in effect given in kind -- a few billion a year in US-made weapons and ammo. The aid money goes to US weapons makers.
Correct. It’s another example of corporate welfare for the defense industry. If Israel wants to buy our weapons I’m all for it. If they don’t then that’s fine, too.
But America is broke and Sen. Paul is right on this. He’s also right tht it’s none of our damned business where the Israeli government builds or does not build.
No, it’s another example of the federal gov’t carrying out one of the few things we require of it, national defense.
If you’d like to be on or off, please FR mail me.
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If you’d like to be on or off, please FR mail me.
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If you’d like to be on or off, please FR mail me.
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Rand Paul is sharp and reality based..not a Jew hater, not a big nanny state loving, GOP butt kissing “R” or a foreign policy wimp that pretends we have no enemies. I like him.
We are an ally of Israel so we help them militarily. Same as we we do Saudi Arabia and South Korea. Taiwan too. We have friends in this world and having militarily alliances with them and trading with them is part of the deal. So is giving military aid. The 2-3 billion we give Israel each year for arms purchases is all spent in America so it helps jobs and industry here at home too
One reason why Taiwan Japan and Korea buy so much USG debt is because we back them up against China. This is called having friends, alliances, people you do business with in this world, same as you and I do on our small level
I agree and like paul too. He is a likeable version of his dad.
One reason why Taiwan Japan and Korea buy so much USG debt is because we back them up against China. This is called having friends, alliances, people you do business with in this world, same as you and I do on our small level
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Or another perspective is that they pay us off to put our sons and daughters in harms way if needed.
Exactly.
By all rights aid to Israel has as much right to be in our defense budget as the many more billions we spend on European defense that IS in our defense budget.
What’s in a name? Everything per Rand Paul.
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