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Senator Rand Paul has come out solidly against foreign aid, all foreign aid. Does all foreign aid include aid to Israel? For once we have a politician who is intellectually consistent, so yes ending all foreign aid includes ending aid to Israel.
The prospect of not handing money over to Israel for no good purpose has kicked off a fire storm. What I find fascinating about Rand Paul’s critics is that most of them seem to be complaining that this would hurt Israel’s interests.
Not to sound callous or anything, but isn’t it the job of a US Senator to be concerned with US interests not Israel’s? Shouldn’t the debate be how handing out 3 billion dollars advances American goals, not how stopping would hinder Israel?
Rand Paul points out that stopping all aid would include stopping handouts to Israel’s enemies (he also grumbles correctly that America has been funding two sides of an ongoing conflict, thus enabling that conflict to continue). I can’t help but think that Israel’s traditional enemies benefit disproportionately more from aid. They are after all much poorer and receive about the same amount of money each.
But without getting bogged down in the discussion of what is good for Israel let us go back to considering what is good for the USA and its taxpayers.
The most common argument is that the USA needs an ally in the region. I don’t see how Israel has ever been useful to American interests with the Arab world, and I can actually think of a few ways that it has been detrimental. Even if there is a usefulness for America to be allied with Israel (which there may be one that I am missing), Israel clearly benefits more even without a $3 billion subsidy. That being the case, would the alliance seriously be in danger if the subsidy ended?
Another argument is that the USA should not abandon a stalwart ally. Well Canada has been a far more useful ally for far longer than Israel, where is our hand out? Besides of course Israel is ‘stalwart,’ they need the United States far more than America needs Israel.
At least one commenter took issue with Rand Paul’s assertion that in a time of budget deficit foreign aid is a logically program to cut. The claim is that deficits should not be used as an excuse to “abandon Israel.” Frankly not having enough money is always a good reason not to do something, even if that something is perceived as a good thing. I would love, for example, to give a million dollars to cancer research, but I don’t have that kind of money, so I don’t.
I am glad that Rand Paul has taken this principled stand against foreign aid. I am hopeful that he has been able to launch a real meaningful debate on both foreign aid and America’s relationship with Israel.
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8 comments:
Most of the aid money the US spends in that region is as a result of the Camp David accords, which essentially amounted to a gigantic bribe to make Egypt stop attacking Israel. Only one of the Israeli peace treaties to actually work, though - you still hear Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan flaring up all the time, but Egypt has been quiet since the 70s. Stopping the money to Israel might not affect anything - as you say, they need the US a lot more than the US needs them - but stopping the money to Egypt might have some unpleasant consequences.
That said, I think I'm still in favour of it - the US is in an absurdly deep fiscal hole, and it needs to start fixing that. That's going to mean unpleasantness all around, but that's always how it is when the binge ends. But keep in mind exactly what it'd cost - it's not as trivial a decision as you're making it out to be.
This is why I remain a traditionalist conservative and refuse to join with libertarian tea party types. The Reductio ad absurdum of libertarianism is that it ultimately hinders wise and prudent governance.
Sounds good to me. (real conservative)
Israel is a strategic democratic capitalist ally.
Rand Paul shouldn't be so isolationist like his father Ron Paul.
Throughout history it is common for ally to send money or resources to another. Of all the places to pinch pennies he should start elsewhere.
There is still so many other places to cut. You're supposed to come to stuff like this later or last.
Not everything is about dollars and cents.
@ anon jan 29, 1:24
I agree with you accept I don't see this as the TEA party's goal or request. Rather, an over zealous politician trying to show off to his base. They'd be wrong to accept it.
End all foreign aid to Israel. They will get by without tax payer money. Canadian or American.
Not only that, but where can we sign a petition to send to congress? Thanks.
Israel has repeatedly betrayed America, selling our military secrets to our enemies, and killing American troops in an attempt to blame others and draw us into their conflict.
Aid to Israel? The best aid we could offer would be to force those parasites to stand on their own two feet instead of sucking our blood.
Yet, if America stops our aid, and Germany stops sending perpetual holocaust reparations, Israel, those Nazis of the middle east, would collapse.
I'm all for it.
Israel should be paying us money for causing the middle east to turn against us, Israel is our biggest liability and not an alley in that region, and if it was not because of Israel I think we will not have had 911.
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