Bloated US Spending Bill: Lots for Warmaking and Israel, Cuts for Palestinians
by Stephen Lendman (stephenlendman.org - Home - Stephen Lendman)
Spending for militarism and warmaking increased by $80 billion at a time America’s only enemies are invented ones, no others.
Over half of discretionary spending agreed on through end of FY 2018 year goes for raping and destroying nations, along with other military related activities.
Money spend on mass slaughter and destruction could provide universal healthcare, free higher education for everyone seeking it, and funding for other social justice programs.
Instead it’s allocated for advancing America’s imperium, seeking global hegemony, no matter the human cost.
Most US Palestinian funding goes for serving as Israel’s enforcer. Cutting any means Palestinians receiving aid will get less or nothing - on top of the Trump administration earlier freezing half its funding to UNWRA, the UN organization providing humanitarian aid to Palestinian refugees.
Cutting more US aid to the PLO will create greater hardships for Palestinians than already.
At a time of massively increasing federal deficits - over $1 trillion this fiscal year, perhaps up to $2 trillion in FY 2019, along with huge annual increases for years to come - Israel is assured of nearly $4 billion annually in largely military aid, subject to increases, not cuts.
For FY 2018, Congress approved another $705 million for its missile defense program.
According to Israeli defense minister Avigdor Lieberman, it’s the highest amount ever provided by Washington, saying:
“We will use the money for mass production of the Iron Dome, Magic Wand, and Arrow 3 interceptors and to continue to develop the multi-layer defense system against future threats.”
“I thank our great friend the United States of America, which until now has invested $6.5 billion in protecting the skies of Israel.”
“We are grateful for the aid and the uncompromising commitment by the administration and Congress to Israel’s security.”
Like America, Israel has no enemies, no need for a large standing army.
It’s used for offense, not defense, notably repressing Palestinians, waging wars on Gaza at its discretion, attacking Syria and at times Lebanon.
Claiming ballistic missiles represent one of Israel’s greatest threats is a bald-faced lie - among other reasons, used to get generous annual funding from Washington.
Used responsibly, $4 billion annually could feed thousands of food insecure Americans - and/or provide shelter for similar numbers of the homeless.
Instead it goes to Israel’s killing machine. Money diverted from America’s rage for war to constructive purposes could turn the country into a social paradise - a model for other nations to emulate.
Using it for creating hellish conditions in one country after another is how America seeks global hegemony - devastating countless millions, threatening humanity’s survival.
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