C-130J's: Not so fast
Remember the C-130J military cargo planes that the United States was going to sell to Israel a couple of weeks ago? You know - the ones that made us all sigh with relief that maybe there really wasn't an arms embargo on Israel. Remember how I said that I believed that the whole thing was just a way to get Israel to use up its military aid money? (Go back to that link if you don't - you can also get a bigger picture of the chart in the top left corner there). Well, guess what: The sale is now awaiting a 'political decision' (Hat Tip: Jihad Watch). "There is a signed agreement," an official said. "The announcement requires a political decision."For all of you who tried to argue that Barack Hussein Obama was pro-Israel: We told you so.
Under the accord, Israel would be able to purchase three C-130Js from manufacturer Lockheed Martin. The agreement called for an option of another six air transports for a total value of $1.9 billion. The Israeli request for the Super Hercules had been approved by the administration of then-President George W. Bush in 2007.
The administration of President Barack Obama has refused to approve any of Israel's military requests since it entered office in January 2009. The Pentagon did not announce any weapons contracts to Israel over the last 14 months.
Israel was expected to receive its first C-130J in 2013, officials said. They said the next step would be to sign a contract with Lockheed Martin, which has been processing requests from such Middle East countries as Iraq, Oman and Tunisia.
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 10:43 PM
5 Comments:
Hi Carl.
I think it's high time Israel rethinks her dependance on America.
What if he gets a second term?
Or it's high time to make a nuclear statement in Iran.
Your roadmap to peace gets more difficult.
Will.
I agree with Will: surely Israel could buy planes from the Russians?
Israel can make the statement before that!
It is time for Israel to say they will not buy any more American Weapons and look to the Russians and Chinese.
Its time Israel became a net exporter of weapons and weapon systems. Aircraft and related systems fit into this category.
Israel cannot rely upon favorable political winds in its 'allies' governments in perpetuity. Israel needs to have no external dependencies for its survival, and this includes weapons systems, aircraft, food, water, and fuel. These are strategically important to Israel, and the decision about creating/deploying such weaponry in defense of Israel cannot have a political gatekeeper in another land. This is wrong.
Especially my own country with our failed presidency in progress, the political winds strongly favor the destruction of Israel's capacity of self defense. This presidency will be defanged in November 2010, with the forthcoming rout of the president's party, and control of the purse strings will pass into saner and more responsible hands. This will at least be able to contain the damage our failure-in-chief can do to this country. Unfortunately, he will still be in nominal control over various political levers. And he will exercise them to Israel's detriment.
This is why Israel needs to be free from fools like this.
Obama wants Israel to pay dearly for a new round of arms purchases.
What could go wrong indeed
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