http://joshuapundit.blogspot.com/
Turning The Screws: Obama Expands Arms Freeze On Israel
While President Obama has made a real career out of alienating ourtraditional allies, he appears to have a special place in his warped heart for Israel.
It started with top administration official snubbing Israel's Chief of Staff on a special trip here or to discuss Iran. and with special new Pentagon rules put in place by the Obama administration that that amount to a defacto cut in military aid to Israel.
It's continued with Secretary of State Clinton's insulting demands that Israel stop building homes for Jews who happen to live in Jewish communities like Jerusalem, Efrat, Gush Etzion, Ariel or other any other Jewish communities the Palestinians want to occupy, and with the Obama Administration's refusal to respect Israel declaration of Jerusalem as its undivided capitol. to create what amounts to almost outright hostility and intimidation of the sort one would expect from the UN rather than from America.
It's continuing with outright freezes and deliberately created bureaucratic delays on Israeli arms requests:
It started with top administration official snubbing Israel's Chief of Staff on a special trip here or to discuss Iran. and with special new Pentagon rules put in place by the Obama administration that that amount to a defacto cut in military aid to Israel.
It's continued with Secretary of State Clinton's insulting demands that Israel stop building homes for Jews who happen to live in Jewish communities like Jerusalem, Efrat, Gush Etzion, Ariel or other any other Jewish communities the Palestinians want to occupy, and with the Obama Administration's refusal to respect Israel declaration of Jerusalem as its undivided capitol. to create what amounts to almost outright hostility and intimidation of the sort one would expect from the UN rather than from America.
It's continuing with outright freezes and deliberately created bureaucratic delays on Israeli arms requests:
The Obama administration has blocked Israel's request for advanced U.S.-origin attack helicopters.
Government sources said the administration has held up Israel's request for the AH-64D Apache Longbow attack helicopter. The sources said the request was undergoing an interagency review to determine whether additional Longbow helicopters would threaten Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip.
"During the recent war, Israel made considerable use of the Longbow, and there were high civilian casualties in the Gaza Strip," a source close to the administration said.
The sources said Israel has sought to purchase up to six new AH-64Ds in an effort to bolster conventional and counter-insurgency capabilities. They said Israel wants to replenish its fleet after the loss of two Apache helicopters in the 2006 war with Hizbullah. {...}
Israel's Defense Ministry and air force have discussed procurement of additional Longbows with the U.S. firm Boeing. But the sources said the Longbow as well as other defense requests have been shelved by the administration amid its review of the potential use of American weapons platforms by Israel.
Interesting that Hezbollah gets mentioned. They're slated to take over Lebanon in the June 7th elections, and as I write this, Vice President Slo-Joe Biden just got back from Beirut, after promising that the Obama Administration will follow through on a major arms deal with Lebanon even if Hezbollah wins the election:
Lebanese Defense Minister Elias Murr says US Vice President Biden promised to provide Middle Eastern country with 42 fighter jets as well as helicopters, UAVsand tanks, regardless of election results.
US Vice President Joe Biden promised that Washington will provide the Lebanese army with 42 fighter jets, helicopters, UAVs and tanks, Arab media outlets reported on Saturday. {...}
The aid package is estimated to be worth hundreds of millions of US dollars.
Biden wrapped up his seven-hour visit at Beirut airport Friday, standing before an array of military equipment, including tanks, armored personnel carriers and helicopters that he said are part of more than half a billion dollars in US military assistance to Lebanon since 2005.
"We believe it's crucial that you be able to do your mission to defend the state and citizens of Lebanon,"Biden said, standing Murr.
"One army, one armed group, one police power, one capability to control your own country," he added.
The Obama administration has imposed obstacles on Israeli efforts to procure U.S.-origin fighter-jets.
Administration sources said the White House has drafted measures that could prevent Israel and other non-NATO allies from procuring U.S. fighter-jets, including the F-35. They said the administration would require that Israel obtain special permission from the Defense Department and State Department to acquire the Joint Strike Fighter.
The administration has also been resisting Israeli requests for technical data on the new F-15SE fighter-jet.
Under the proposals, the Pentagon would order modifications of JSF to provide the aircraft with nuclear strike capabilities. The sources said such a capability would provide the Pentagon with access to government budgets to maintain and develop the U.S. nuclear arsenal.
"Once JSF obtains nuclear strike capability, there becomes a problem with exports," the source said. "NATO countries would have less of a problem; non-NATO countries would need special exemptions."
The sources said Lockheed Martin would not be instructed to develop both nuclear- and non-nuclear models of the F-35 for the first stage of production. Israel has sought to become among the first export clients of JSF.
Over the last few months, the administration has rejected a series of Israeli requests regarding modifications of the F-35. They included Israeli electronic warfare systems and acquisition of U.S. software codes that would allow Israel to repair the aircraft's central computer. The U.S. refusal meant that the Israel Air Force would be forced to send the F-35 to the United States for any repairs, a process that could take months.
The sources said the State Department has been delaying Israeli requests for pre-export licenses required for an examination of the new generation F-15.
The sources said the administration has not approved the new F-15 for the Foreign Military Sales program. They said this could prevent Israel from using U.S. military aid to purchase the aircraft from Boeing.
"This is a legal issue," a source said. "The F-15SE might not qualify for FMS."
I might also mention that Israel contributed $22 million towards theresearch and development of the F-35 with the agreement that they would be able to evaluate the fighter and have the right to purchase it.
Here's what's going on. President Obama and his administration have not cut Israeli military aid outright, which might have political repercussions with what is still mostly pro-Israel Congress. Instead, what he's doing is placing unreasonable restrictions and delays on actually spending the money. And since 80% of Israel's US military aid is mandated to be spent in the US by federal law, more and more of the aid will simply become unusable.
Rest assured, Obama will continue to tighten the screws on Israel in an effort to appease the Muslim world, prevent Israel from dealing with Iran's nuclear weapons and force them to surrender to the Palestinians.
He is, after all, George Soros and Reverend Wright's protege and I hope every silly Leftard Jew who voted for him in spite of everything they were told about this president's history and associations is starting to come to terms with what they endorsed and how they were cynically manipulated.Some mistakes in judgment simply aren't forgivable or easily paved over.
As for Israel, they're going to have to come to terms with a foul betrayal by a long term ally and look to their own interests.
(hat tip, the Hashmonean
Watcher's Council Results, 5/29/09
The Council has spoken! A complete rundown of the voting tallies is here.
The winning entry in the Council category this week was Bookworm Roomwith Does Brown v. Board of Education constitute the Supreme Court’s one free pass? , a fascinating post in which she wonders whether judicial activism may have had its one shining moment .
In second place we had a tie between Right Truth with Home grown terrorism and the media , a superb look at what's going on under our noses while the dinosaur media sleeps and The Provacateur forDeconstructing The Criminal Enterprise ACORN , an expose of what Obama's favorite 'community organizers' are really up to.
Also getting votes were The Razor for Death To Inclusiveness! , yours truly at JoshuaPundit for Jerusalem Day , Soccer Dad for Mr. obama and mr. netanyahu - the alternative version , and Wolf Howling for Obama Has The Left Going Nauseous .
In the Non-Council category, the runaway winner was my nominee , Melanie Phillips for A Wary Encounter , an excellent account of the Obama/ Netanyahu meeting and what it signifies.
In second place oddly enough was my second place choice, Der SpiegelOnline for Hitler’s European Holocaust Helpers . This piece looks at the John Demjanjuk AKA `Ivan the Terrible ' concentration camp guard deportation and makes the very salient point that the Germans had a number of non-German helpers in the War Against the Jews, and unlike the Germans, most of them have never acknowledged their part in the Holocaust.
The truth is that in countries where there was a widespread, acceptable and historical Jew hatred among the population, many of the local residents actively approved of what the Nazis were doing and actively helped. For instance, at Babi Yar in the Ukraine, 34,ooo innocent men women and children were murdered in the largest mass killing of civilians in the war outside of Kiev by the Nazis with the aid of Ukrainian police, while the locals brought picnic lunches to watch the slaughter and cheered it on. And no, I'm not exaggerating in the least. It went so well that the Germans and their Ukrainian partners repeated the performance, and over 100,ooo Jews ultimately ended up being murdered there.
Kiev, by the way, was Demjanjuk's home town.
Given the times, Der Spiegel is to be congratulated for running this and reminding their fellow Europeans of a few things.
As always, congratulations not only to the winners but to the participants.
Posts
