Posted on 06/19/2007 1:25:13 PM PDT by SJackson
Report: US to increase Israel funding
US President George W. Bush agreed to increase financial aid to Israel, Channel Two reported.
Bush met with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert following a press conference the two held in the Oval Office at the White House.
"All options are still on the table regarding Iran," Bush said during the press conference.
Bush added that he understood the fear of Israeli citizens when they hear Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's comments about wanting to destroy Israel and that this concerned him as a strong ally of Israel.
Regarding Syria, Bush said the US had no intentions of mediating between Israel and Damascus, as Syrian President Bashar Assad had requested.
He said that Olmert was a leader strong enough to conduct these negotiations on his own.
"If the prime minister wants to negotiate with Syria he doesn't need me to mediate ... it's up the prime minister," Bush said. "This man is plenty capable of having negotiations without me mediating."
Olmert on his side also played down any possibility of a breakthrough on peace negotiations with Syria.
"The Syrian leader said that he is against any precondition on the Israel side but he is certainly for preconditions on the Syrian side," he said. "I'm not certain that the understanding of the president of Syria can lay the foundations for immediate discussions."
Israel and Syria have both recently signaled a willingness to restart peace talks. The US has opposed talking to Syria because of its ties to Iran and militants in Iraq and Lebanon. However, Bush is under pressure from allies, lawmakers and advisers who think Washington should improve relations with Syria in an effort to isolate Iran.
Both Bush and Olmert spoke positively of recent meetings between Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas and the Israelis.
"I'm going to make every possible effort to cooperate with him," the prime minister said. Bush called Abbas "the president of all the Palestinians" and "a voice for moderation."
"Our hope is that President Abbas and Prime Minister Salaam Fayad - who's a good fellow - will be strengthened to the point where they can lead the Palestinians in a different direction," Bush said.
Bush and Olmert both committed themselves during the opening statement to move forward Tuesday's resolution [of holding meetings with Abbas], with Bush framing the current battle between Hamas and Fatah inside the greater ideological context of conflicts between extremists and moderates taking place throughout the world, specifically in Iraq.Print Subscribe E-mail Toolbar
Hope this is for buying sorties to obliterate Assad and the Mullahs.
Im watching those two ineffectual leaders and Im thinking how much U.S. taxpayer money are they going to flush down the islamic rathole.?.
What’s the difference between Bush and a drunken sailor?
A drunken sailor spends his own money.
High Volume. Articles on Israel can also be found by clicking on the Topic or Keyword Israel. or WOT [War on Terror]
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Wonder what Ohlmert agreed to? Guess we'll find out soon.
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Olmert is the Jimmy Carter of Isreal, Where is Net when you need him
Doesn’t make sense to send US (my) money to both Israel and the terrorists who want to destroy her. They cancel each other out. How about just send 0. Same result.
Quote of the day IMHO!
IMHO, Olmert looks and acts like a French leader.
Thanks!!! What do I win? ;)
That's true. Our aid to Israel is the result of our commitment post Egypt peace treaty to maintain Israel's military superiority over her enemies. If we didn't sell Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and the Gulf States 4 times as much of the same platforms we sell Israel, we wouldn't need to give Israel aid. Of course that would be 10 or 12 billion a year less for our defence industry.
See post 13. There’s a direct correleation. If we don’t provide arms to Israel’s enemies, we don’t need to supply aid. Of course that won’t happen, we sell 4 times as much of the same or better platforms to the Arabs.
Israel doesn’t need more funding. Netanyahu has said for several years that if he is re-elected he will call for an end to U.S. foreign aid to Israel (and Egypt, of course).
You have to be skeptical about Bush's character evaluations after he called Putin trustworthy a few years ago.
“Boys and girls, I see good fellows everywhere! - I see Jimmy, Putty, Abdul, Assad, Abbas, Fayad - Yes! - Do you see all the Good Fellows also boys and girls? "Now keep looking in your Magic Mirrors, more will be appearing very quickly."”
Looks like Ron Paul was right again.
Israel should use every penny of it for advanced, offensive weapons R&D—some sort of “doomsday” weapon that only Israelis could be immune to.
Agree. It is time for some of the so called moderate gulf states such as Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia to put some skin in this game. We (U.S.) should inform them that it’s time to stand up and be counted in this war against radical Islam, one way or another as they have more to loose than anyone if the whole region should be dominated by Iran and it’s surrogates. And, also inform them if they don't do this they no longer will be able to count on us coming to their rescue in the future.
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