In a recent lecture, Brian McGlinchey, a former soldier and independent American author, who is known for revealing some of the secrets of the September 11, 2001 attacks, said, “I will begin my analysis of US-Israeli relations with a journey to an unexpected place... to December 20, 1989, when the United States invaded Panama, overthrew Noriega, kidnapped him, and took him into custody, where he later died in prison. A total of 350 American soldiers were killed or wounded in that operation. Several weeks later, I had a conversation with a Panamanian military colleague, and I apologized to him for what we had done to his country. Without hesitation, he replied, ‘We knew you were coming; the Israelis had informed us.’
About 36 years ago, under the scorching Panamanian sun, my journey began to understand the unusual relationship between two nations - one, the greatest economic and military power in history, and the other, a tiny state. Yet, the smaller state systematically forces the superpower to transfer its wealth, unconditionally adopt its geopolitical agenda, and take extraordinary measures on its behalf, often inflicting grave damage on our interests and causing the death, displacement, and despair of millions of innocent people. U.S. support for Israel comes at a high and multifaceted price. The costs of this relationship are not measured solely in dollars, but we will begin there, bearing in mind that every dollar is an interest-bearing loan.
The figure most often cited is $3.8 billion, which is the amount the United States committed under the current memorandum of understanding between the two parties. However, the total aid often far exceeds this amount. In the first year following October 7, 2023, Congress approved an additional $8.7 billion in aid to Israel. Israel is among the largest recipients of U.S. aid. Since its founding, it has received roughly twice as much aid as the next-largest recipient. Although it accounts for only 0.12 percent of the world’s population, it has received between 20 percent and 30 percent of total U.S. foreign aid since World War II.
This becomes even more striking when we consider that Israel is among the wealthiest countries in the world. It ranks 20th globally in GDP per capita, ahead of countries such as Austria, Canada, Germany, and the United Kingdom. Israel receives twice as much aid as the United States provides to all of sub-Saharan Africa combined, in addition to the substantial sums that the United States spends on Israel’s behalf. Moreover, the aid provided to Egypt is, in effect, aid that benefits Israel, as it has contributed to Israel’s security under the Camp David Accords.
The same applies to Jordan. Bureaucratic mechanisms are used to obscure the true extent of aid to Israel by arranging separate arms deals for amounts that fall just below the threshold requiring congressional reporting. As a result, Israel receives more than half of all U.S. military aid worldwide. Surprisingly, Israel’s share of military aid is so large that its supporters lobby the United States to increase military assistance to other countries. This occurs even though U.S. law prohibits providing aid to countries that possess nuclear weapons and have not signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Iran has signed the treaty, whereas Israel has not.
Therefore, the wars in Iraq and Syria alone have cost nearly $3 trillion, largely to appease Israel. Part of this amount has been directed towards veterans’ welfare - patriots who joined to defend America but ended up becoming pawns in the hands of a small state on the other side of the world.”
By Ahmad alsarraf
email: [email protected]
email: [email protected]
