Obama administration trying to bribe Israel to accept Iran deal
According to the story at the first link above, the US plans to 'compensate' Israel for a 'quiet acceptance' of the US consenting to Iran becoming a nuclear power.
The package could include an increase in the number of F-35 fighter jets the US is to supply Israel, and additional batteries for Israel’s anti-missile defense systems, according to reports in both Haaretz (Hebrew) and Yedioth Ahronoth this week.
They're surprised? I'm not. This isn't about money and it isn't even about getting more military equipment. And by the way, am I the only one who notices the irony of the Nobel Peace Prize Winner offering military equipment to a former ally to get them to acquiesce in their sworn enemy stepping up to a new level of military power?A senior Obama administration official told Yedioth that “the White House is willing to pay a hefty price to get some quiet from the Israelis at this point. We are surprised the demand has not been made.”
But the newspaper also quoted an unnamed Israeli source as conveying a more ambivalent stance about the reported talks.
“If we come with demands at this point, it would mean that we have given up our objections to the deal, and now it is just a matter of at what price. If Israel believes that the deal is bad for its security, it cannot appear as someone who gave up in the end,” the paper quoted the source as saying.
By the way, the Sunni Muslim Gulf State are being offered similar 'compensation packages'....According to the reports in both Haaretz and Yedioth, the US-Israel talks revolved around enhancing a previously negotiated deal to supply Israel with 33 F-35 aircraft, the first batch of which was expected next year. The total number of jets could go up to 50, Haaretz reported.
According to the second story, the State Department and the Pentagon have already approved the 'compensation package.' But listen to what it includes:
If the agreement is finalized, Israel will receive a supply of precision-guided munitions consisting of 750 bunker buster bombs, 3,000 Hellfire missiles, 250 medium-range air-to-air missiles and 4,100 glide bombs, in a deal worth $1.879 billion.
And the US is now claiming that Israel 'asked' for the deal, while Israel is claiming that this has nothing to do with Iran.In addition, the package includes 14,500 missile guidance systems — known as tail kits for Joint Direct Attack Munitions — which convert unguided bombs into GPS guided missiles.
According to the agency, Israel requested the sale, which only includes types of weapons Israel already has.
“The proposed sale of this equipment will provide Israel the ability to support its self-defense needs. These munitions will enable Israel to maintain operational capability of its existing systems and will enhance Israel’s interoperability with the United States,” the statement read.
...
A Defense Ministry source told Israel Radio the deal had nothing to do with Iran nuclear talks or any other conflict in the Gulf region.
A report in Israeli media Tuesday indicated the US and Israel were discussing a so-called compensation package that would see Washington sell Jerusalem advanced weapons, including more F-35 jets, in exchange for the Netanyahu government’s quiet acceptance of the emerging nuclear deal with Iran.
So instead of stopping Iran himself, Obama is giving everyone else in the Middle East the capability of doing so themselves (that's what the bunker busters are for). Nobel Peace Prize? What could go wrong?
Labels: Barack Hussein Obama, Binyamin Netanyahu, bunker busters, F-35, Iran sanctions regime, Iranian nuclear threat
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 11:22 PM
5 Comments:
Israel needs to insist there are no preconditions on their use. They will come in handy against Hezbollah and Hamas.
If Israel ends up agreeing to be bought off, in my opinion they should ask for the plans and the rights to build the F-22. It is far and away a better aircraft than the F-35.
This extra military funding (if that's what this is?) is the most reasonable proposal made lately, and is objectionable as a BRIBE? But the $$ BBILLIONS of euthanizing Gaia Green $lu$h Israel has accepted for defective "renewables" technology is a-okay? Not to be even mentioned, just accepted silently? Israel's participation in the Gaia thing has helped these whacked Marcuse/Alinsky Democrats stockpile dictatorial power, based on false "science." With or without this military stuff, these Dems are leaving Israel (and other traditional allies) in the ditch. Unlike the solar stuff, at least the IDF can accomplish something with the military stuff.
So after admitting that after the proposed 10-year waiting period (less if they violate the agreement), Iran will be within weeks or days of a nuclear weapon, Obama wants to win Israel's silence by offering more F-35s - an airplane without enough range to reach Iran . . .
It's at times like these that I wish that the Lavi program had gone forward, and Israel didn't have to accept whatever short-legged alternative the U.S. had to offer. Too much know how was lost when that program was shut down.
I agree with free` that the F-22 is a far superior air-to-air platform. Unfortunately production was shut down, and it would require years and billions just to reproduce all of the tooling and requalify the processes. Also, like the F-35, the F-22 doesn't have the range to threaten Iran.
What Israel would ideally do would be to develop her own multirole, long range 6th-gen fighter. Had the Lavi gone into production, IAI's experience could have been put appropriately to use in a follow-on program. When it was cancelled, however, most of that expertise left the country. It was a gapping loss that Israel will feel for a long time to come.
I saw that there was a new book coming out on the Lavi at the end of the year:
http://www.amazon.com/Lavi-United-States-Controversial-Fighter/dp/1612347223
Hopefully it will cast some fresh light on all that Israel gave up, and what needs to be rebuilt to ensure Israel's future freedom of action. Israel's F-15Is and F-16Is won't last forever, and the F-35 has neither the range or payload to substitute for their role.
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