Arab organization asks bush to reject more military aid to Israel
The Anti-Discrimination Committee has asked US president Bush to refuse an Israeli request of an additional $14 billion in U.S. military assistance and U.S. loan guarantees.
The organization recalls that an official Israeli delegation met with U.S. National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice and submitted to the Bush Administration a request for an additional US$ 4 billion in military aid and $10 billion in U.S. loan guarantees.
Israeli sources claim that the Administration promised Prime Minister Sharon to quickly approve his request "with minor changes." The organization says the U.S. approval of this massive funding request is not automatic, as claimed by some Israeli newspapers and officials.
The Bush Administration and the U.S. Congress will have to decide whether or not to approve this staggering request for billions more in U.S. dollars for Israel. The U.S. already provides a whopping $2.848 billion (FY 2002 estimate according to the Congressional Research Service) in military and economic assistance to Israel each year.
Israel is slated to receive an additional $200 million in FY 2003 to help that country "combat terrorism." Last week, the Bush Administration approved $2.16 billion in military assistance to Israel for FY 2004, an increase from the $2.1 billion requested for FY 2003. Saddling the American taxpayer with an additional $14 billion in U.S. military assistance and U.S. loan guarantees for Israel at this time makes bad economic sense for the American taxpayers. On the foreign policy level, the new funding fails to account for the long-term political and strategic implications for U.S. national interests if the U.S. appears to be supporting hard-line Israeli policies in the Arab world, it said.
