Obama to Bibi

Ron Paul has always said that US foreign policy is incredibly simple: do what we say and we will send you money; disobey and we will bomb you. While there is (fortunately) little threat of the US dropping bombs on Israel over that country’s hysterical opposition to the recently-agreed Iran deal, the carrot has just become even more gold plated.

According to the New York Times, President Obama called Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu this week to promise him a massive increase in US military aid — from the current $3 billion per year to $4.5 billion — as bribe money to soothe Israeli fury over the possibility of peace breaking out between the US and Iran.

But, according to the Times, Bibi is playing coy with Obama’s generous offer of other people’s money, refusing to even consider the gift until the US Congress has the opportunity to kill the Iran deal. But if the real Israel lobby otherwise known as the US House and Senate are unable to nuke the nuke deal, Netanyahu will likely enjoy an additional $1.5 billion per year over the next ten years as a consolation prize. The Times quotes AIPAC-funded Washington Institute “scholar” David Makovsky as swearing that Netanyahu would never accept the additional payment from the US because he would view it as “muddying what he sees as the moral clarity of his objection” to the Iran deal. Well let’s not hold our breath.

US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter, who comes to the Pentagon directly from the military-industrial complex, will be in Israel next week to wave a few dollars around to the uncontainable glee of the Beltway death merchants. US military aid to Israel is like US military aid to other countries — most of it finds its way back to the US military-industrial complex and their posh homes in the Virginia suburbs of McLean and Clifton. It is the most deadly welfare for the rich.

There is no word yet on how much additional military equipment the US will make available for sale to other US “allies” in the Middle East like Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, but it is becoming clear that each of our “friends” are going to extract their pound of flesh from the American taxpayer for Obama’s unpardonable sin of seeking rapprochement with Iran.