Topic: Foreign Policy
Note to Condoleezza Rice: Americans and not Israelis should be our top priority It is time for our government to represent our needs as a people. If this editorial should inspire you to take action in some way, please let it be for you to call your elected officials to cut off the aid to Israel. We simply cannot afford it. Tell them of your needs and of how you have suffered throughout the years.by Mary MacElveen
(libertarian)
Monday, September 24, 2007
Most likely, I will get emails coming into me stating that I am anti-Semitic for what I am about to say within this piece. Nothing can be farther from the truth since I always separate the faith of Judaism from the government of Israel. That has been my record in writing any critical piece directed at that country and ours supporting it.
If I thought the quotes coming from Frederick W. Kagan and former Secretary of State Madeline Albright made my blood boil over and evaporate into steam in my previous article, one person's quote leaves me speechless. In fact, there are no words to describe how I feel. Okay, livid is one.
Our current Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice had this to say when it comes to any aid given to the State of Israel, 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 foreign aid. We will translate our obligations into Euros or whatever currency that best fits Israel's needs"
She goes onto say, "We need to place our Israeli obligations at the top of our national priority list. Israel should not suffer any inconvenience due to currency fluctuations"
First of all, I think we the taxpayers of the United States have given Israel more than enough money in aid over the years. In fact we roughly give them $2 billion in aid every single year as many Americans go hungry, are without health care and live out on our streets. I do think that the American people are suffering.
To Secretary Rice, the American people should be at the top of our priority list or have you forgotten that? Try selling this line to those still feeling the affects from Katrina. Those who felt Katrina's wrath were left behind by this administration. They could certainly use that $2 billion dollars. So could many other areas affected by natural disasters within our own country.
In my previous piece discussing how this war in Iraq is a Ponzi scheme, I clarified for my readers that the sanctions we imposed on Iraq caused the deaths of one million Iraqis. We did this as a result of their non-compliance to numerous U.N. resolutions no wonder why we are not trusted by the Arab world especially when we hold them to a higher standard than Israel. This has been our major foreign policy disaster for years now which even predates the Bush administrations.
When is anyone in Washington, D.C. going to say to Israel, “You start playing by the rules everyone else is expected to and then we might talk”? Nah, it will not happen when AIPAC is a predominant force in our political system.
Israeli foreign minister Tzipi Levni had the hubris to say that this aid be paid in Euros instead of dollars. Note to Ms. Levni: This American citizen really does not feel like paying your country period. It is time to stand on your own two feet.
We also aided them last year as the State of Israel pummeled Lebanon we gave them $280 million dollars to fuel their fighter jets and $48 million to pay for a Palestinian power plant that they took out. If they felt they needed to attack, they should have paid for it themselves. I felt sickened beyond belief knowing that Lebanese blood was on my hands. To the good people of Lebanon, I am truly sorry.
To Sec. Rice, you want to speak of suffering; the Iraqi people have suffered so much under the Bush administration. Over one million are dead and how dare you state that the State of Israel should not suffer.
Perhaps the dollar would not have suffered so much if the Bush administration was conservative in their spending meaning no war in Iraq which is bleeding our coffers dry. This war is destabilizing our fiscal resources. President Bush wants another $200 billion to fund this war? Will that be in dollars or Euros?
At this point, I am getting tired of the State of Israel demanding anything from the American people especially when we could use that money back home. It is time for our government to represent our needs as a people. If this editorial should inspire you to take action in some way, please let it be for you to call your elected officials to cut off the aid to Israel. We simply cannot afford it. Tell them of your needs and of how you have suffered throughout the years.
The views expressed in this
article are those of Mary MacElveen only and do not represent
the views of Nolan Chart, LLC or its affiliates. Mary MacElveen is
solely responsible for the contents of this article and is not an
employee or otherwise affiliated with Nolan Chart, LLC in his/her role as a columnist.
Posted By: Walt Thiessen
Date: 2007-09-26 12:29:28
It seems weird to have to remind ourselves that American interests should come before Israeli interests in American minds, but it's true that the distinction is often lost in our leaders' minds.
Strange how the most informative and important article on this website has not received one thumbs up.
While Condoleezza Rice leaves no doubt about her priorities, one must wonder what priorities, if any, do Mr. and Mrs. Gressroots have.
As I said in 2004, "Before George W. Bush leaves office, OPEC and others will demand Euros, and that's the day we can bring Old Glory down, fold it up, and put it away. The United States will be under new management and have a new flag. As the Iraqis watched Saddam's statue being toppled by Americans, it will be Americans who will watch as the Lincoln and Washington monuments are pulled down."
We now, like others in a not so distance past, can read Goethe or Rilke in the evening, play Bach and Schubert, and go to our day's work at Auschwitz in the morning. And we too will experience the heart wrenching sorrow of doing so.
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