R i g h t a r d i a: US should scale back economic and military aid to Israel

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

US should scale back economic and military aid to Israel

Israel has been doing a great job of thumbing their noses at the big international and regional powers. First, the Israelis were involved with the hijacking of the Arctic Seas.

The Arctic Sea cargo ship that disappeared last summer may have been carrying weapons to Iran. It was being tracked by Mossad, the Israeli security service, according to reports.

Israel has argued that the ship was carrying S-300 missiles, an advanced Russian anti-aircraft system, while undergoing repairs in the Russian port of Kaliningrad, a notorious Baltic smuggling base.

Those who believe Mossad was involved point to a visit to Moscow by Shimon Peres, Israel's president, the day after the Arctic Sea was recovered.

Then the Israelis insulted a Turkish envoy. Israel sparked an international dust-up when envoy Ahmet Oguz Celikkol, summoned by Danny Ayalon about an anti-Israeli television show aired in Turkey.

The envoy was made to sit in a chair lower than that of Ayalon, while the Turkish flag was deliberately not displayed on the table between the two men. The Turks announced that Ayalon's first apology was insufficient.

Then, of course, the Israelis announce they are building 1,600 apartments in an East Jerusalem neighbourhood while Vice President Joe Biden was visiting. This was a huge insult to the US from a small nation of 13.5 million people.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stoked the growing feud with the U.S. on Monday, refusing to back off on Israel's plans to build in East Jerusalem. George Mitchell followed up by cancelling a meeting with Netanyahu.

The Major heard Netayahu speak many years ago when Bibi was an ambassador. He views the Palestinians as terrorists and subversives. When Netanyahu was elected prime minister, Rightardia did not hold out much hope for middle east peace.

Rightardia believes that a more realistic approach is needed with Israel. John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt have written an excellent book on this topic: The Israel Lobby and US Foreign Policy – which was published in late August 2007.

Rightardia suggests that any peace efforts on the part of the US are a waste of time while the Likud Party is in power. The US has used the carrot for a long time as an incentive for Israel. It is time to use the stick.

Mideast envoy George Mitchell has threatened that the U.S. could freeze aid to Israel if the country fails to advance peace talks, YNetNews.com reported.

Mitchell said the U.S. can legally cut aid to Israel and that all options must remain open, YNet reports, though he clarified on PBS that the U.S. wants to put pressure on both sides in Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations.

In the long run the US has bigger international fish to fry than the feud between two small nations. We need better relations with some of the regional powers in the middle east. We will never put any pressure on Israel with just talk. Rightardia hopes the US era of middle eastern sacred cows is over.