The
Delusion of U.S. Aid
By
Former Ambassador Yoram Ettinger
Before
Israel disburses the billions of dollars in US aid – to defray
the cost of another Israeli retreat ("Realignment") – the
US has to approve such an aid package. However, the chance
of approving such a package is identical to the chance of Israel
receiving US financial aid for previous retreats from Southern
Lebanon, Northern Samaria and Gaza – Zero!
THE
EXPECTATION – BY TOP ISRAELI OFFICIALS – that the US
would eventually help finance a mega-billion dollar retreat
from Judea & Samaria and the uprooting of scores of Jewish
communities, ignores recent precedents, demonstrates lack of
sensitivity to US budgetary constraints, reflects misunderstanding
of the US political system, and manifests miscomprehension
of vital US interests in the Mideast. Such an expectation undermines
the strategic posture of Israel in the US.
IN
2000, PRIME MINISTER BARAK CONTENDED that President Clinton
was committed to an $800MN aid package, in order to induce
a retreat from Southern Lebanon. In 2004/5, Prime Minister
Sharon and Deputy Prime Minister Olmert impressed upon the
Israeli public that President Bush would provide $1BN-$2BN,
in order to facilitate the $3BN retreat from Gaza and Northern
Samaria. Not a penny was transferred to Israel! Contrary to
Barak’s, Sharon’s and Olmert’s statements, Clinton and Bush
never committed to these aid packages, just as they never committed
to recognize Israel’s sovereignty over any Jewish settlement
beyond the 1949 Green Line. Moreover, Congress – and
not the Administration – possesses the Power of the Purse,
and all disbursements require a complex legislative process,
and not just positive presidential declarations, which are
constitutionally and internationally non-binding.
THE
U.S. CONGRESS IS CURRENTLY DEBATING A SERIES OF PAINFUL BUDGETARY
CUTS, against the background of a threatening $300BN budget
deficit, the rising cost of the wars in Afghanistan and in
Iraq ($4BN monthly), the dramatic increase in the price of
oil, the $200BN devastation caused by Katrina and other storms,
etc. Legislators are raiding the defense budget, in order to
fund domestic projects. Senator Thad Cochran, Chairman of the
Appropriations Committee, is fighting over $900MN for the reconstruction
of a shipyard and railroad tracks in Mississippi. Senator Landrieu
is struggling to secure $12BN for the rebuilding of the Katrina-plagued
area. The Senate seeks a $14BN cut, and the President’s political-base
threatens to desert him unless he trims the budget deficit.
THE
AFTERMATH OF ISRAEL’S RETREATS from Southern Lebanon, Gaza
and Northern Samaria has convinced leading US legislators that
Israel’s retreat from terrorist strongholds undermines vital
US concerns in the Mideast. Thus, the US is the leader in the
war on Islamic terrorism, it has decimated two major terrorist
regimes in Afghanistan and Iraq, it acts to neutralize the
Iranian nuclear threat and intimidates the Assad regime, it
supports the Hashemite regime and other pro-US regimes in the
Persian Gulf, and it attempts to lower the Mideast profile
of Russia, China and North Korea. But, Israel’s retreat from
Southern Lebanon (June 2000) has propelled Hizballah – the
role model of IEDs – to a major role in the anti-US terrorist
campaign. Moreover, Israel’s retreat from Gaza and Northern
Samaria (August 2005) has transformed these areas into the
largest terrorist base in the region, has adrenalized the veins
of regional – including anti US – terrorism (which
has escalated since "disengagement"), has upgraded
the effectiveness of Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists (who
have been credited, by the Palestinian Street, with Israel’s
retreat), has enhanced the influence of their allies in Iran,
Syria and the pro-Saddam camp, has intensified the threat to
the survival of the Hashemite regime and pro-US regimes in
the Persian Gulf, has advanced the regional profile of Russia,
China and North Korea, has undermined Israel’s posture of deterrence,
and therefore has set the area closer to an all out war and
farther from peace. Another retreat from Judea & Samaria – which
possesses a unique strategic edge – would exacerbate
the aforementioned threats and would threaten the supply lines
to – and the operational maneuverability of – US troops
in Iraq. A continued US and Israeli support of an expanded
Palestinian domain would defy the consequences of Palestinian
entrenchment in Syria (1966), Jordan (1970), Lebanon (1975/6)
and Kuwait (1990) – fueling instability, subversion and
bloodshed in the Mideast.
"REALIGNMENT",
JUST LIKE "DISENGAGEMENT", IS NOT AN AMERICAN IDEA,
and therefore the US does not feel obligated to support it.
The US has always respected (although many times disagreed
with) an Israel, which is a producer – rather than a
consumer – of national security and deterrence. The US has
preferred an Israel, which extends the "Long Military
Arm" of the US rather than an Israel which requires an
American helping hand, an Israel which defeats terrorists rather
than an Israel which negotiates with terrorist, an Israel which
attacks terrorists at their own End Zone rather than retreats
from terrorists towards its own End Zone, an Israel which excels
in military operations a’ la 1988 (counter-terrorism), 1982
(blasting Soviet surface to air missiles), 1981 (Ozirak), 1976
(Antebbe), 1967 (Six Day War), 1956 (Sinai) and 1948 (War of
Independence) and not in retreats.
Rather
than fantasizing over a special US aid package, the Israeli
public should study the Texas colloquialism: "Fool me
once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me!"