alt.politics.economics

On Sep 23, 10:01 am, "Chris X" wrote:
> If divided by today's population, that is more than $5,700 per person.
>
> /
>
> The Christian Science Monitor
>
> December 09, 2002Since 1973, Israel has cost the United States about $
> trillion. If divided by today's population, that is more than $5,700 per
> is an estimate by Thomas Stauffer, a consulting economist
> inWashington. For decades, his analyses of the Middle East scene have made
> hima frequent thorn in the side of the Israel the first time in
> many years, Mr. Stauffer has tallied the total cost tothe US of its backing
> of Israel in its drawn-out, violent dispute with thePalestinians. So far, he
> figures, the bill adds up to more than twice thecost of the Vietnam
> now Israel wants more.
>
> In a meeting at the White House late last month,Israeli officials made a
> pitch for $4 billion in additional military aid todefray the rising costs of
> dealing with the intifada and suicide also asked for more than
> $8 billion in loan guarantees to help thecountry's recession-bound economy.
> Considering Israel's deep economic troubles, Stauffer doubts the Israelbonds
> covered by the loan guarantees will ever be repaid. The bonds arelikely to
> be structured so they don't pay interest until they reachmaturity. If
> Stauffer is right, the US would end up paying both principaland interest,
> perhaps 10 years out.
>
> Israel's request could be part of a supplemental spending bill that's
> likelyto be passed early next year, perhaps wrapped in with the cost of a
> war is the largest recipient of US foreign aid. It is
> already due to get$ billion in military assistance and $720 million in
> economic aid infiscal 2003.
>
> It has been getting $3 billion a year for the official aid
> to 2001 dollars in purchasing power, Israel hasbeen given $240 billion since
> 1973, Stauffer reckons. In addition, the UShas given Egypt $117 billion and
> Jordan $22 billion in foreign aid in returnfor signing peace treaties with
> Israel."Consequently, politically, if not administratively, those outlays
> are partof the total package of support for Israel," argues Stauffer in a
> lecture onthe total costs of US Middle East policy, commissioned by the US
> Army WarCollege, for a recent conference at the University of Maine.
>
> These foreign-aid costs are well known. Many Americans would probably say
> itis money well spent to support a beleaguered democracy of some
> strategicinterest. But Stauffer wonders if Americans are aware of the full
> bill forsupporting Israel since some costs, if not hidden, are little known.
> One huge cost is not secret. It is the higher cost of oil and other
> economicdamage to the US after Israel-Arab 1973, for instance, Arab
> nations attacked Israel in an attempt to winback territories Israel had
> conquered in the 1967 war. President Nixonresupplied Israel with US arms,
> triggering the Arab oil embargo against shortfall in oil
> deliveries kicked off a deep recession. The US lost$420 billion (in 2001
> dollars) of output as a result, Stauffer a boost in oil
> prices cost another $450 billion.
>
> Afraid that Arab nations might use their oil clout again, the US set up
> aStrategic Petroleum Reserve. That has since cost, conservatively,
> $134billion, Stauffer US help includes:. US Jewish charities
> and organizations have remitted grants or boughtIsrael bonds worth $50
> billion to $60 billion. Though private in origin, themoney is "a net drain"
> on the United States economy, says Stauffer..
>
> The US has already guaranteed $10 billion in commercial loans to Israel,and
> $600 million in "housing loans." (See editor's note below.) Staufferexpects
> the US Treasury to cover these.. The US has given $ billion to support
> Israel's Lavi fighter and Arrowmissile projects.. Israel buys discounted,
> serviceable "excess" US military says these discounts
> amount to "several billion dollars" overrecent years..
>
> Israel uses roughly 40 percent of its $ billion per year in militaryaid,
> ostensibly earmarked for purchase of US weapons, to buy
> Israeli-madehardware. It also has won the right to require the Defense
> Department or USdefense contractors to buy Israeli-made equipment or
> subsystems, paying 50to 60 cents on every defense dollar the US gives to
> help, financial and technical, has enabled Israel to become a
> majorweapons supplier.
> Weapons make up almost half of Israel's manufacturedexports. US defense
> contractors often resent the buy-Israel requirements andthe extra
> competition subsidized by US taxpayers.. US policy and trade sanctions
> reduce US exports to the Middle East about$5 billion a year, costing 70,000
> or so American jobs, Stauffer estimates.
>
> Not requiring Israel to use its US aid to buy American goods, as is usual
> inforeign aid, costs another 125,000 jobs.. Israel has blocked some major US
> arms sales, such as F-15 fighter aircraftto Saudi Arabia in the mid-1980s.
> That cost $40 billion over 10 years, 's list will be
> controversial. He's been assisted in this researchby a number of mostly
> retired military or diplomatic officials who do not gopublic for fear of
> being labeled anti-Semitic if they criticize America'spolicies toward
> : This article was published in 2002. Since then, the .
> hascontinued to dump billions and billions of dollars on Israel, even as the
> USeconomy stumbles and millions of Americans struggle to find a job or
> makeends meet.
> The question of why the . supports Israel with obscene amounts of money
> and sacrifices the well-being of its own citizens has neverbeen answered; in
> fact, few have ever even dared to ask the question.
>
> Those who have asked have been branded "anti-Semitic". Apparently, loyalty
> to the Israeli Zionists takes precedence over loyalty to the American people
> in the eyes of the vast majority of recent . leaders.
>
> *********************
> "There is only one start you can make, and that is a start toward being
> England. A refusal to be a province of Israel, or an outpost of
> Yankee-Judaea."
>
> -Ezra Pound
>
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