Steve Posted June 1, 2010 Report Share Posted June 1, 2010 U.S. aid was about 3 or 4 billion USD a year but has been going down slightly each year for the past few years http://wrmea.org/component/content/article/245-2008-november/3845-congress-watch-a-conservative-estimate-of-total-direct-us-aid-to-israel-almost-114-billion.html and is now about 2.4 billion USD. It really isn't that much money when you consider the size and scope of the total U.S. budget. It will be one of the last things cut because of political pressure and also because its fairly insignificant for the amount of influence the money gets us there. Its not 2 billion but American jewish organizations send a ton of money to Israel as well. Whether they deserve to be in Israel or not, its just not possible for all the Palestinian arabs to be repatriated in Israel. It simply won't work for obvious reasons. The best solution seems to me to be for the surroundig countries like Syria and Lebanon to either accept them (assuming the Palestinians would accept this...a big ask) or give up parts of their territory to form a new country for the Palestinians. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unit731 Posted June 1, 2010 Report Share Posted June 1, 2010 Militant pacifists maybe ... That's an oxymoron if I ever heard one ! I come home from school every day and my mother has spent the day collecting rocks so that I can throw them at . . . . . "Hello, Mom?" "What have you been doing all day?" "What?" "Collecting rocks for me to throw at the . . . " "Frig my school homework." "I'm gonna go and throw rocks at the . . . " Gotta love those peace loving pacifist 'stinians. And the emphasis they place on the childs education. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Specialist Posted June 2, 2010 Report Share Posted June 2, 2010 I'm not confident that any U.S. politician has the balls to pull off this intiative, but if the U.S. wants to really make positive impresssions on both the Israeli government AND the Arab countries, as Commander in Chief I'd order about a dozen U.S. Navy ships to transport humanitarian aid into Gaza. That might get Israel's attention and would show the Arab world that the U.S. is serious about what it says. HH Hugh, the key words in your post are "humanitarian aid". Supposedly, the seized ships were transporting "humanitarian aid". However, when the Israelis searched the seized ship, they found bulletproof vests, night-vision goggles, and gas masks. I'm having trouble finding those items in my Jane's International Humanitarian Aid catalog: do you remember what page they're on? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acockasian Posted June 2, 2010 Report Share Posted June 2, 2010 I'm not confident that any U.S. politician has the balls to pull off this intiative' date=' but if the U.S. wants to really make positive impresssions on both the Israeli government AND the Arab countries, as Commander in Chief I'd order about a dozen U.S. Navy ships to transport humanitarian aid into Gaza. That might get Israel's attention and would show the Arab world that the U.S. is serious about what it says. HH[/quote'] Hugh, the key words in your post are "humanitarian aid". Supposedly, the seized ships were transporting "humanitarian aid". However, when the Israelis searched the seized ship, they found bulletproof vests, night-vision goggles, and gas masks. I'm having trouble finding those items in my Jane's International Humanitarian Aid catalog: do you remember what page they're on? Where are you reading that? The part about bullet proof vests? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robaus Posted June 2, 2010 Author Report Share Posted June 2, 2010 >>Supposedly, the seized ships were transporting "humanitarian aid". However, when the Israelis searched the seized ship, they found bulletproof vests, night-vision goggles, and gas masks. .... what utter bollocks! That would have been the propaganda coup of the decade for Israel, but not a word of this even in the Israeli press. Quote your source for this, or you undermine all your credibility. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashermac Posted June 2, 2010 Report Share Posted June 2, 2010 << The Israeli military today released footage of weapons it says were found during deadly commando raids on a flotilla of ships bound for Gaza. Improvised explosives, knives, machetes, catapults and gas masks were among the cache allegedly retrieved from the six-strong fleet which was stormed on Monday. The images were released by the Israel Defence Forces, who claim the weapons were used against navy personnel when they boarded the ship. >> Sort of what the red shirts had. Maybe Thaksin was behind this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acockasian Posted June 2, 2010 Report Share Posted June 2, 2010 << The Israeli military today released footage of weapons it says were found during deadly commando raids on a flotilla of ships bound for Gaza. Improvised explosives, knives, machetes, catapults and gas masks were among the cache allegedly retrieved from the six-strong fleet which was stormed on Monday. The images were released by the Israel Defence Forces, who claim the weapons were used against navy personnel when they boarded the ship. >> Mac....WHERE are you seeing this? Sorry....the link did not load. I am not seeing any guns or military weapons. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashermac Posted June 2, 2010 Report Share Posted June 2, 2010 Opposing views: Israel considers itself above the law, but did the activists get what they wanted - confrontation? As Israel faces escalating international outrage over its deadly raid on a flotilla of aid ships, two writers give opposing views on the fiasco - were the activists the architects, or should all faith in Israel now be lost after its excessive, lethal force? -------------- [color:blue]1)[/color] << At first glance, it is the same old story. Once again, Israel seems to be guilty of using excessive force against innocent civilians - scoring a dreadful own-goal in the process. But while the deaths of 19 of those aboard the ships are a terrible tragedy, things aren't as simple as they seem. For in my view, the architects of this fiasco were not belligerent Israeli generals but cynical 'aid organisers' who knowingly sent naive, bleeding-heart activists - not to mention a good number of thugs spoiling for a fight - into a dangerous confrontation, determined from the outset to provoke Israel into a violent act that they could use to their own ends. For it is clear this escapade was less about aid than about PR. Indeed, on board one of the aid vessels was Swedish novelist Henning Mankell, who wrote the Wallander detective novels. He was primed to discuss his humanitarian odyssey with newscaster Jon Snow at this weekend's Hay Literary Festival. It is hard to imagine a more contrived form of 'debate'. Nor can there be any doubt the activists chose to confront the Israeli navy, rather than sail their cargo of cement and crayons into the port of Ashdod, from where they had been told it would be delivered on to Gaza. ... >> [color:blue]2)[/color] << The violent assault by Israeli forces on a humanitarian aid ship has understandably led to a wave of condemnation from across the world. In Israel's defence, the latest YouTube footage shows their troops being attacked with poles, firebombs and stun grenades as they board the ships, and it is clear there were plenty of thugs among the supposedly peaceful activists. But the troops responded with excessive, lethal force that left 19 dead. It would also be a mistake to see yesterday's shocking events as a one-off. For they are merely the latest in a series of aggressive acts by a country which clearly considers itself above international law. ... >> Link Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acockasian Posted June 2, 2010 Report Share Posted June 2, 2010 Turkey is pretty important to Israel and that relationship appears to be done. Headline on www.drudgereport.com right now is: Dread in the Med: Israel Concerned Turkish Navy With Next Flotilla This is going to be interesting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashermac Posted June 2, 2010 Report Share Posted June 2, 2010 Great - we end up with wars in Korea, the Mediterranean, Afganistan ... where next? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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