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Letters to the Editor
From: AA Two points need to be addressed. US aid to Israel is more than 50% of all US to the entire world. That is not true. Israel never received as much as 50% of the US aid to foreign countries. While it is true that Israel received more than many other countries, it has not been true since 2004. In 2004, Iraq received 18.44 billion USD while Israel received 2.62 billion USD. Egypt received 1.87b USD, Afghanistan 1.7b USD, Jordan 0.56b USD, Pakinstan 0.39b USD, Turkey 0.15b USD. I left out non-Islamic countries in the top. In fact, Islamic countries in the top 10 recipients of US aid outnumber non-Islamic countries. Take a look at page 17 of this public document. http://usinfo.state.gov/usa/infousa/trade/files/98-916.pdf Please remember that all of these figures are public information in the US so if any of these official government documents tried to lie, it would be quickly caught and blasted across our media. If with all the money we give to these countries (to bribe them) we have not succeeded in persuading them to vote our way, then common sense would dictate that the US asks why so? Well, because bribes never work. Bribes never purchase loyalty. Sometime bribes can purchase actions but most of the time only the promise of additional bribes have any effect. The countries we give money to know that we will continue to give them money even if they are unfriendly. That means that our bribes are ineffective. What this really means is that our foreign aid monies are not bribes because we do not punish receipents for acting against us. Compare that to how the old Soviet Union used to give aid. Is it not perhaps that the US is one of two or three countries that always vote one way in support of Israel) and the rest of the world votes another way? Well you might think that, but the truth is more complex. First the rest of the world does not always vote "the other way". Second some Islamic countries have open ties to Israel, like Egypt. Even the Palestinians do more business with Israel than with most other countries. (By the way, some of the US aid to the Palestinians was openly used to teach people to hate the USA.) I think we changed some policies and we no longer buy the matches to burn down our houses. Finally, Islamic nations already have more control over the USA than Israel. Much of our oil is controlled by the Middle East. Many of our companies and properities are controlled or owned by the Middle East. These facts are not hidden. It is not in the best interest of most Middle Eastern nations to remove Israel. The proof is that Israel still exists. The US needs to look deeper into its own pockets and moral fabric and question the morality and the benefits of its foreign aid and stance. We don't want to stop giving aid to nations that we think need it. In fact, this is a very Islamic thing to do. Help those that need help. The fact of the matter is that we often never receive any thanks for our help but then we do not expect it. Cutting off aid to Israel will immediately render the countries mentioned our friends- they will vote our way- guaranteed. No it would not. Think carefully about this. Why would the world care? In addition, cutting off aid to Israel would not make them disappear but it might make them more desperate. The Editor AA, PhD |