By Dr. Elias Akleh
It is a well known fact to many that American Zionist Jewish groups especially AIPAC are the most influential political groups in the US. It members control the Federal Reserve and the majority of American banking and financial institutions, major American corporations especially the military industrial complex, and major media resources. AIPAC is so powerful that it greatly shapes the American foreign policy.
AIPAC wields so much financial power, whose bought stooges had been pushed to the Congress. These bought Congressmen place Israel’s interests; though colonialists, terrorist, genocidal and violating all international laws and human rights, on top of their list although on the expense of their tax-payers American Constituents. For them American interests and security have no value next to those of Israel’s. They don’t care that such unconditional blind support to an illegitimate colonial terrorist Israel gains Americans only enmity and hatred of at least half of the world population. The handful few honest Congressmen, who neither sold their souls nor their country, do not dare to oppose AIPAC since such an act has been proven in the past to be a political suicide.
AIPAC had pushed in the past so many anti-American resolutions for approval by the Congress. The latest anti-American resolution is the Senate Resolution S.R. 65 authored by the pro-Israel Senators Lindsay Graham and Robert Menendez that was introduced to the Senate in February 28th. This resolution is called “The Iran Nuclear Prevention Act” and is similar to that of the H.R.850 in the House of Representatives. This is a very dangerous and a warmongering resolution calling for strong support to the full implementation of US and international sanctions on Iran urging Obama to continue to strengthen enforcement of sanctions legislation.
This resolution is based on the false premises that Iran pursues a “nuclear weapons capability” and an American policy “… to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon capability”. It has been declared several times that the Israeli and American intelligence as well as the IAEA know that Iran’s nuclear program is peaceful and is geared towards civilian use. Despite this knowledge the resolution urges the US that “if the Government of Israel is compelled to take military action in self-defense, the United States government should stand with Israel and provide diplomatic, military and economic support.”
This is actually a declaration of war against Iran dependent on Israeli whim. This resolution basically states that if Israel starts a war against Iran for any reason, the US must automatically support it including the use of its own military and naval forces. As Senator Graham admitted in an interview, “If Israel acts in its own defense – even pre-emptively – we will support Israel economically, diplomatically, and politically.” Such a resolution, if approved, would make it easier for the obsessed-with-Iran Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu to convince his government to attack Iran guaranteeing American support.
Through their ardent Zionist stooges, such as Republican Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and Democratic Ted Deutch, AIPAC is pushing another anti-American House resolution H.R. 938 to be approved by the Congress. H.R. 938 is the “United States-Israel Strategic Partnership Act of 2013” calling for strengthening what is termed “the strategic alliance” between US and Israel. It calls for the Congress to declare that Israel is a major strategic partner to the US, and to declare its intentions to upgrade “the framework of the US-Israel strategic and military relationships.”
This resolution calls for extending the time length and scope of the many forms of assistance and technological sharing programs the US had entered into with Israel. This includes Israel’s access to and use of equipment from American military stockpiles.
What is even more concerning is that this resolution specifically gives Israel the full authority to re-export and re-sell any technology, military or otherwise, it obtains from the US. This frees Israel to sell American technology to any other country including its enemies. Israel has a long track record of stealing proprietary American defense technology and selling it to former Soviet Union and to China.
Another specific area the resolution focuses on is the various Israeli missile defense systems it is developing. The bill mandates that the US “… should provide assistance upon request by the Government of Israel for the procurement and enhancement” of these systems. This means providing financial, technological, and training assistance to Israel in this industry.
Another dangerous aspect of this resolution is its calling for the State Department to include Israel in the visa waiver program granting Israelis complete free of any monitoring travel to the US. This would be a welcomed gift to Israeli organized crimes trafficking with white slavery, body organs, and drugs such as ecstasy, which is already prevalent in the US. Such a visa waiver program usually requires reciprocity on the other party. The Israeli visa access program is the most stringent in the world denying visa to many nationalities including American citizens, who are of Arab descent, especially Palestinians, and those of Islamic religion.
This is an unfair, biased and dangerous resolution threatening American interests and standing in the international community. Unlike any other regular strategic alliance agreement, there is nothing in this alliance that benefits the US. On the contrary it puts the US under un-necessary financial and military obligations. The resolution is strictly unidirectional; does not state any Israeli obligation towards the US and does not pose any conditions or restraint on Israeli behavior.
It is so dangerous to single out and to grant Israel the status of a major strategic ally when American soldiers, joined by troops from other countries like Canada, UK, France and Spain, had fought Israel’s proxy wars in the Middle East while Israeli army was cheering up from the safety of their homes.
Then there is AIPAC’s attempt to determine the results of the sequestration; a forced deficit reduction that Congress had agreed to in the Budget Control Act of 2011. AIPAC’s lobbying soldiers were sent to the House and the Senate office buildings urging their congressmen not to cut Israel’s $3.2 billion a year in aid no matter what the sequester calls for and no matter what domestic programs have to be eliminated. Once again the Congressmen are told to ignore the dire needs of the tax-paying American citizens in favor of satisfying the needs of colonial genocidal Israel.
The American citizens need to understand that the $3.2 billion is not an accurate figure and does not reflect the whole amount they are paying to Israel. Any interested American citizen can obtain charts and records about American financial aid to foreign countries from the Congressional Research service within the library of Congress, or by visiting the library of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) in Rosslyn, Virginia. The records show that Israel received in the last few years the sum of $3 billion annually; $1.8 billion in military aid and $1.2 billion in economic aid. In addition to that Israel received in 1997 alone at least $525.8 million from a variety of other American federal budgets, and yet another $2 billion in federal loan guarantees. So the total of American grants and loan guarantees to Israel for 1997 was $5,525,800,00.
Investigations done by freelance writer Frank Collins and “Washington Reportnews” editor Shawn Twing revealed that between 1949 – 1998 Israel had received a total of $83,204,827,200 in American foreign aid grants and loans. Besides that the American administration pays Israel this amount at the beginning of the fiscal year in lump sum amount. To do that the US borrows money to pay Israel and then pays interest on the loan. The grand total of foreign aid to Israel including the interest comes to about $85 billion. This amount does not include American loan guarantees to Israel with greatly reduced interest rate. These loans amounted to further $10 billion up to date. Such loans and interests are never paid back to US due to the Cranston Amendment of 1983.
It should be noted that during the period between 1949-1996 American aid to tiny Israel was greater that American aid to all of the countries of sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean combined. Countries receive foreign aid because they host American military bases, or due to some type of environmental catastrophe. They are also expected to use the funds for the purchase of American arms, ammunition, training and other services. As for Israel, the US does not get one single benefit in return.
Does all that incense American citizens, who are jobless, homeless, hungry, tired, and without any health benefits?
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Dr. Elias Akleh is an Arab writer from a Palestinian descent born in the town of Beit Jala. His family was first evicted from Haifa after the “Nakba” of 1948, then from Beit Jala after the “Nakseh” of 1967. He lives now in the US, and publishes his articles on the web in both English and Arabic.
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The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of this Blog!
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