Daily Alert Archives

Behind the U.S.-Israel Discussions on Military Aid

(Ynet News) Amos Yadlin - According to Israel, the agreement with Iran endangers its security, and therefore the U.S., which had been the driving force behind the agreement, should help Israel with the resulting threats. The Obama administration sees the agreement with Iran as a strategic accomplishment that will decrease the nuclear threat to Israel. The fact that the U.S. military aid budget for Israel is also expected to cover costs related to protection against missile threats makes the overall proposed budget increase relatively minute. [The administration's budget regularly includes a low figure for funding joint U.S.-Israel missile defense projects and Congress has increased the figure every year.] As part of the proposed new aid agreement, the administration is asking that Israel agree to refrain from asking Congress for any additional budget increases. Since the 1980s, Israel has been allowed to use a quarter of the military aid for purchases from Israeli defense industries. The administration seeks to cancel this arrangement, which would present a serious blow to Israeli defense industries. Maj. Gen. (res.) Amos Yadlin is executive director of the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) in Tel Aviv.
2016-05-03 00:00:00
Full Article