Time To End Foreign Aid To Israel? Rand Paul's Thoughts.

Rand Paul is brutally stupid.

 

I disagree. While some of his proposed policies are extreme, he is one of the few people in congress that is trying to do the math. Everyone wants something for free, but we just can't afford it as a country anymore. The Federal government is just too big. We have to cut SS, medicare, and the military. We need to squeeze for efficiency for our dollar.

 

ahh, the third rail

 

I agree with him

 

I'll give him some credit for challenging the foreign military aid and the defense budget when everyone else is afraid to mention it.

 

Ending all foreign aid is just nonsense and shows ignorance.

Of course some of it is misguided and should be cut, but to stop it completely while our enemies continue it would be stupid. This is just as dumb as the "unilateral disarmament" people used to be years ago.

The easiest way to draw public support for something is to make it simplistic and avoid nuance. "Foreign" aid is a good bogeyman that isn't even a budget-buster.

 

It's funny how nobody ever worries quite so much about the nearly-as-large $2 billion per year going to Egypt.

 

Well, except the Republican deficit commission that vowed to cut it.

That money can also be construed as indirect Israeli aid, since Egypt is pretty much one of the only consistent Arab states that is always in America (and thus Israel's) pocket.

 

In another thread there was a Republican proposal for cuts with the aid to Egypt including among the proposed cuts.

Back to the topic on hand I am very much for this and have been saying for awhile that we should cut our aid to Israel. Besides the benefit of the cutting the defense and foreign aid budget I don't think we are getting much of a return on investment from funding Israel and if anything our funding as part of our overall support for Israel has harmed our own standing among the Islamic world. As a propaganda and recruiting tool by Islamic radicals to fight us our support of Israel undermines our efforts at national security.

At the same time I believe that our support also encourages Israel to engage in the very activities that make it harder for them to come to any sort of lasting peace with their neighbors. Israel is a very small country and while it has relative economic might it still has to spend quite a bit on defense. Even so though it is engaged in an occupation of a territory more than half of the size of its own country while also building, and protecting settlements in hostile territory. I don't see how a country the size of Israel can continue to do this indefinitely without US aid helping to defray costs. In my opinion if the US were to cut aid and Israel were forced to bear the cost of defending both Israel proper and settlements and occupation in Palestinian territory they would find that very difficult and might be willing to pull back and fortify a border mostly along Israel proper.

Regarding the inevitable statements that cutting US aid will mean seeing the destruction of a Western Democracy at the hands of an extreme Islamic horde consider that Israel has nukes and has the most powerful and advanced military in the region. As they have shown, even before US aid, they can defeat any Arab army or group of Arab armies. Arabs will find it very hard to push the Israelis into the sea when they have nukes pointed at them. Israel can survive without US aid.

 

Yeah. And I can find one or two people who think America Ferrera is super-sexy. That doesn't mean that people obsess about her like Jessica Alba or Scarlett Johansson or Allison Stokke.

Awesome. We can use this logic to claim that the entire US foreign aid budget goes to Israel. What the hell is wrong with us? Only sending foreign aid to the Israelis?

[rquoter]
History is a set of lies agreed upon.

- Napoleon Bonaparte

[/rquoter]

The myth of Israels indestructibility and super-powers is a mutually agreed upon lie arrived at for the benefit of both Israel and the inept leaders who refuse to fight Israel.

As recently as 2006 they had their asses handed to them. Israel came a hair's breadth away from total annihilation a handful of times. They are indestructible like every other country that still exists - they've avoided it thus far.

 

Rand Paul said he wants to end all foreign aid, it was Blitzer that brought up Israel.

 

..Blitzer and CNN who brought up Israel.

 

I agree with Rand Paul! We also need to reduce all entitlement programs by 10% across the board. Propose legistlation that will allow citizens opt out from paying SS. And instead reinvesting the funds in a IRA or whatever they choose.

 

Rand Paul seems to worry about it, since his proposal would cut both at the same time.

Plus, I'd point out that the aid to Egypt is economic while the aid to Israel is military. So my money going to Israel is essentially going to the suppression of the Palestinians, which I'd rather not be associated with. You could say the money going to Egypt helps prop up Mubarak's less-than-democratic government, but at least it's not directly buying guns to oppress people with.

 

How so?

The "you're dumb" line of reasoning should be maligned on this board, but it seems all too common here.

 

So if we Cut Egypt and Isreal off . . . . What happens?
What are the Ramifications of such a move?

Rocket River

 

They can borrow money from China, that's what we do to give them aid. Might as well cut out the middleman.

 

How so? If a Democrat proposed ENDING ALL FOREIGN AID I would call that person brutally stupid, as well. Slavish support for a political idea is no virtue. It is brutally stupid, in my opinion, or is an opinion to be frowned upon in this forum?

 

You did say "It's funny how nobody ever worries quite so much about the nearly-as-large $2 billion per year going to Egypt."

In this thread alone two posters have pointed out that proposals have been brought up to cut funding to Egypt. While yes its not discussed as often as funding to Israel it is a subject that has come up a few times.

[rquoter]
History is a set of lies agreed upon.

- Napoleon Bonaparte

[/rquoter]

In 2006 they were trying to occupy another country fighting a determined insurgency while losing popular support at home. That wasn't a fight for survival of the country. That would be like saying the US could've been destroyed by the Vietcong and Vietminh.

As for the times they have come close to annihilation did they have nukes then? Nukes changes the equation and short of Iran or one of the Arab countries getting nukes, and even then they would just have a MAD situation, no Arab country is going to attempt to invade Israel.