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Source: http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061218/OPINION07/612180334/1108/OPINION
U.S. Reaps Mutual Benefit of Aid to Israel
[Wilmington, Del., News Journal] Mark Wagmen - The U.S. and Israel cooperate extensively on defense, intelligence, and economic matters. Nearly 90 percent of U.S. aid to Israel is military and 74 percent of Israel's military aid is spent buying U.S. goods. Israel's military not only defends its citizens against enemy attacks, but also serves as a powerful presence in the region to deter terrorism and aggression. Israel's military strength keeps extremist forces in check in the eastern Mediterranean, without the need for a single American soldier, in contrast with the Gulf region, where the U.S. has had to send troops because there is no equivalent to Israel to provide stability. U.S. troops use several Israeli technologies, including unmanned aerial vehicles, decoys to confuse enemy radar, and reactive armor on Bradley tanks to repel enemy fire. The writer is chairman of the Jewish Community Relations Committee of the Jewish Federation of Delaware.