Hillary Clinton continues her Mid-East trip to once again try to kick start a process towards settling the ongoing conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians. The Obama administration has been sending subtle signals that business as usual may change in order to make progress towards a real solution that both the warring parties can live with.
Mrs. Clinton will have a tightrope to walk with the Israelis as she may have to deliver a sobering message to Big Bad Benjamin Netanyahu that a new sheriff is in town. Secretary Clinton will have to make the Israelis understand that the United States must embark on a new strategy of leveling the playing field during negotiations to present a more balanced image than the US has presented in the past.
This could prove difficult as the entire US Congress has been compromised by campaign donation and other perks provided by special interest groups over the years for their unyielding support for Israel. Since Obama is a relative newcomer and not nearly as tainted as the rest of America’s political leadership, he has the least favors to honor and can approach this festering problem with clean hands.
Even though Israel is facing an uncertain economic future along with the rest of the world, the US is falling faster than anybody thus far and a strong argument can be made for trimming the aid the Israelis receive from America to offset our budget outlays. With an annual gift of $3 billion per year, every year, along with the latest $900 million in pledged aid to the Palestinians to clean up the aftermath of Israel’s war in Gaza, the tab for Israel’s security may be seen as too much for us to afford right now.
If one did a cost benefit analysis of how the Israelis are spending the cash they get from America, it is hard to see how it is making them any safer, notwithstanding how little it does to increase the safety and well being of Americans. After the madness in Lebanon during the summer of 2006 and this latest insanity in Gaza, it appears the American taxpayer is not only picking up the pieces of Israeli aggressions, but we also have to pick up the tab for them as well.
If one takes a close look at the drug wars occurring on the southern borders of this country and the lack of border enforcement to deal with Mexican drug lords, we’re sure Americans would want to balance security funding for Israel’s citizen more equitability with its own. America simply can’t afford to green light every military action the Israelis want support for without first considering the end result. And thus far, the end result of the Israeli initiated military actions have been failures. They have failed to stop the rockets from being launched against them, they have failed to get Cpl. Gilad Shalit back, and they have failed to close down all the tunnels they claim Hamas is using to smuggle weapons through.
From our perspective, the Israelis have racked up a lot of kills and injured but have achieved few of their stated goals and objectives. It is time for a new, fresh and honest approach and not the same old AIPAC funded rhetoric Click here for the podcast http://retrovisionmedia.com/...