Surviving Capitalism (Not) : US will ensure Israel's "military superiority": Panetta [to AIPAC]

We’ve lived so long under the spell of hierarchy—from god-kings to feudal lords to party bosses—that only recently have we awakened to see not only that “regular” citizens have the capacity for self-governance, but that without their engagement our huge global crises cannot be addressed. The changes needed for human society simply to survive, let alone thrive, are so profound that the only way we will move toward them is if we ourselves, regular citizens, feel meaningful ownership of solutions through direct engagement. Our problems are too big, interrelated, and pervasive to yield to directives from on high.
—Frances Moore Lappé, excerpt from Time for Progressives to Grow Up

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

US will ensure Israel's "military superiority": Panetta [to AIPAC]

Click here to access article from Al-Akhbar and AFP.

He touted President Barack Obama's record of security assistance to Israel, saying the administration has "dramatically" increased military aid since Obama entered the White House in 2009, despite the superpower's ongoing economic woes.

I've always wondered what Congressional bills that are used to authorize this welfare grant to Israel for the last--what, 40 years? Unlike bills related to health, education, and welfare in our country, I never hear reports of it being discussed, much less debated. The official figure is always around $3 billion dollars, but I have read reports of military donations being simply flown into Israel and left--which is not accounted for in US assistance figures.

I may have a suspicious mind, but I often imagine that a lot of this money circulates back into the pockets of Congressional representatives to influence their votes.

Yes, I know that Fort Israel is needed by the Empire to control the Middle East, I just wish that there were a little more transparency in this policy. (cynicism)