Israel asks U.S. foreign aid be paid in EUROS
by wakeupfromyourslumber Monday, Sep. 24, 2007 at 9:44 PM

Secretary of State Rice has acknowledged a communique from Israeli foreign minister Tzipi Levni which requests that all foreign aid payments and loans from the United States be made in Euros rather than in Dollars. Foreign Minister Levni cited the rapidly declining dollar and it's disfavor as a world currency as reasons for the request.

"In the spirit of Yom Kippur, the United States will not hold Israel to any agreements obligating them to accept Dollars as payment for their foreigh aid. We will translate our obligations into Euros or whatever currency that best fits Israel's needs" Secretary RIce said in the Friday, Sept 21 announcement.
"We need to place our Israeli obligations at the top of our national prioriy list. Israel should not suffer any inconvenience due to currency fluctuations" said Rice before heading off to Camp David.
A similar request from Egypt was declined last week.
FYI - the Euro is now worth about 1.4 US Dollars.
www.wakeupfromyourslumber.com/node/3689

-------------------------------------

arkansas.indymedia.org/newswire/display/21224/index.php

U.S. Lines Up $30 Billion Arms Deal With Israel

Author

  AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns, who will make a three-day visit to Israel starting Aug. 15, “will sign the memorandum of understanding on the new $30 billion, 10-year military assistance package,” the department said in a statement. The package was unveiled by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on July 30 as part of a new military pact with U.S. allies in the Middle East in a bid to “counter the negative influences” of militant groups al-Qaida and Hezbollah, as well as arch-enemies Iran and Syria.

By AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, WASHINGTON

The U.S. will sign a pact this week providing $30 billion in military aid to Israel over a decade, the State Department said Aug. 14.

Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns, who will make a three-day visit to Israel starting Aug. 15, “will sign the memorandum of understanding on the new $30 billion, 10-year military assistance package,” the department said in a statement.

The package was unveiled by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on July 30 as part of a new military pact with U.S. allies in the Middle East in a bid to “counter the negative influences” of militant groups al-Qaida and Hezbollah, as well as arch-enemies Iran and Syria.

They include a $20 billion weapons package for Saudi Arabia, a $13 billion package for Egypt, and reportedly arms deals worth at least $20 billion for other Persian Gulf states.

The military aid to Israel reflected an increase of more than 25 percent, Israel Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has said, describing the package as a considerable improvement and very important element for national security.

“Other than the increase in aid, we received an explicit and detailed commitment to guarantee Israel’s qualitative advantage over other Arab states,” he said following recent talks with President Bush.

With current U.S. defense aid to Israel standing at $2.4 billion a year, the new package will hike the value of assistance to the Jewish state by $600 million a year on average, officials said.

The two countries are increasingly alarmed by Iran’s nuclear ambitions, which have already incurred international economic sanctions. Iran insists its nuclear program is designed for peaceful civilian energy purposes.

Burns will meet with Olmert, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, Defense Minister Ehud Barak and other Israeli officials during the visit in which “discussions on regional security, including the challenge posed by Iran” would be held, the State Department said.

Burns will also meet with Palestinian Authority leaders regarding “the development of a political horizon” and American humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian people.

The U.S. is striving to forge a deal for the establishment of a Palestinian state ahead of an international meeting called for by Bush in the fall.

Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas said last week he had positive talks with Olmert in the West Bank city of Jericho, the first time in seven years that such a high-level meeting has taken place on Palestinian territory.

www.defensenews.com/story.php

 
-----------------------------

Bush Pledges Hike in Military Aid to Israel
by dn Sunday, Jul. 01, 2007 at 11:01 PM

Just days after Iranian- and Syrian-backed Hamas fighters imposed full control over the Gaza Strip, U.S. President George W. Bush promised his Israeli counterpart a 10-year military aid hike to help it handle new regional threats.

Posted 06/25/07 14:23
By BARBARA OPALL-ROME, TEL AVIV

Israel is seeking an additional $50 million to $60 million each year, which would raise total U.S. military grant aid from $2.4 billion in 2008 to nearly $3 billion by 2018. Nicholas Burns, U.S. undersecretary of state for political affairs, will lead bilateral discussions here in July aimed at determining the parameters and conditions of the new aid package, sources here said.
Aside from the Iranian nuclear program, which continued to dominate the bilateral security agenda; the coup in Gaza; and residual instability in Lebanon, Bush was referring to Syrian and Iranian efforts to arm and train Hizbollah-style proxy forces throughout the region, according to U.S. and Israeli sources here.
With Israel sandwiched between what many here call “Hizbollahland” in the north and “Hamastan” in the south, Bush vowed to uphold sanctions against Hamas while improving material and diplomatic support for the newly constituted mainstream Fatah-led government in the West Bank.
“I’m committed to reaching a new 10-year agreement that will give Israel the increased assistance it requires to meet the new threats and challenges it faces,” Bush said following a June 19 White House meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.
Although Israel’s request to raise aid levels had been on the table for nearly a year, Bush’s public pledge to quickly conclude an agreement reaffirmed the U.S. commitments to preserve Israel’s qualitative military advantage over its neighbors.
Arms Industry in Gaza Sparks Alarm
The Hamas takeover from Fatah is transforming the Gaza Strip into a veritable arms bazaar, with smugglers from the Sinai finding it even easier to circumvent Egypt’s already lax border security, U.S. and Israeli sources here say.
In a June 19 interview, an Israeli security source said Hamas — and to a much lesser extent, Islamic Jihad and other terrorist groups — has amassed combat capabilities through smuggled arms deliveries.
Israeli security data estimates that 16,000 rifles, 40 tons of explosives, 1,800 anti-tank missiles, second-generation night vision gear, 50 rockets, hundreds of rocket-propelled grenades and 20 anti-air missiles have found their way into Gaza. The source emphasized that data is partial and approximate, but indicates an alarming trend that will only worsen under Hamas rule.
“Everything is of concern, but the anti-air missiles represent a relatively new level of threat being introduced into this theater,” said Uzi Rubin, a former Ministry of Defense official and missile expert here.
In addition to illicit imports, Israeli security sources expect Hamas to expand its own indigenous production of rockets, mortars and even anti-tank missiles, they said.
A March report by Israel’s Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center — a nongovernmental organization associated with the Israeli intelligence community — noted that beyond Qassem rockets, Hamas produces various types of explosive devices. Patterned after the side charges used by Hizbollah in Lebanon, the Hamas explosively formed projectiles, called shawaz, or flame, are more effective than those used by other Palestinian organizations due to “improvements in manufacture and ... [high-grade] explosives ... using Iranian and/or Hizbollah know-how.”
More alarming, the report cited Hamas’ ability to produce anti-tank missiles capable of penetrating up to 200 millimeters of steel from ranges of about 250 meters. The Al-Yasin missile, named after the Hamas spiritual leader killed in an Israeli air strike, is based on the Russian PG-2. The report also cited two other indigenous anti-tank missiles, the al-Bana and Al-Batar, but did not provide performance specifications.
On top of all that, sources here said, are the dozens of vehicles, thousands of mortars and rocket-propelled grenades and the tens of thousands of mostly U.S.-supplied rifles and ammunition seized recently from the formerly Fatah-controlled Palestinian security forces.

www.defensenews.com/story.php

-------------------------

While cutting back on social programs that help U.S. citizens, Uncle Sam is
not a total Scrooge this holiday season. In addition to gifts for the super
rich of the good 'ole USA, Israel is also receiving a Xmas bonus.
Israel's giant stocking is hung up on the White House fireplace 365 days a
year (plus that extra leap year day). And our Uncle needs to make sure that
it is continually stuffed with cash and military hardware - courtesy of our
hard-earned tax dollars and sold-out Congress.

U.S. Congress approves transfer of $600 million in aid to Israel

The United States Congress, approved Friday, the transfer of $600 million in
aid to Israel, according to media reports.

The reports state that the money is to be used to fund joint security
projects between Israel and the U.S.

Of the $600 million, $133 million will be used to develop the Arrow missile
program, a collaborative project between Israel Aircraft Industries and
Boeing.

Some $10 million will be invested in developing a missile capable of
intercepting short-range missiles.

Israel carried out a successful test of its Arrow anti-missile system
earlier this month, which Defense Ministry officials called a response to
the increasing threat of ballistic missiles in the region.

The test launch came as a Russian newspaper reported that Iran has signed a
deal to buy Russian tactical surface-to-air missile systems. The reports
comes one day after Prime Minister Ariel Sharon warned of the dangers of a
nuclear Iran.

 http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/661833.html

The playing field is being set up for nuclear war. Merry Christmas and Happy
New Year everybody!