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Debating an Increase in U.S. Military Aid to Israel
(Washington Institute for Near East Policy) David Makovsky - Israel needs to prepare itself militarily for dealing with the limitations of the Iranian nuclear deal - namely, the expiration of restrictions on centrifuges and enrichment in ten to fifteen years and the possibility of cheating beforehand. Other factors include the likely increase in Iranian funding for dangerous regional proxies, the increase in U.S. arms sales to Sunni Arab states in order to offset Iranian activity, and the growing presence of nonstate actors on Israel's borders. Although Israel has (quietly) developed closer ties with some of the Gulf states in recent years, both Jerusalem and Washington believe that Israel's qualitative military edge should be preserved. Some Israelis point to Iraq as an example, noting that Islamic State militants are now armed with American weapons previously provided to the Iraqi army. The writer is director of the Project on the Middle East Peace Process at The Washington Institute.