By Chaitanya Davé
Ever since its illegal establishment in 1948, Israel is committing killings, ethnic cleansing and even genocide in Palestine. It maintains the world’s biggest open air concentration camp in the West Bank where Palestinians are treated worse than animals. America was the first country to recognize Israel. Right away, America started helping Israel. The reason being, America then was very dependent on the oil from Saudi Arabia, Iraq etc. and realized that if these countries have peoples’ revolution, their oil supply will be in jeopardy. Then the state of Israel will be very helpful to do regime change in these Arab countries and install a U.S. friendly government.
When America saw Israel’s capacity in defeating Egypt, Syria and Jordan in 1967 war, America’s support for Israel increased drastically and got solidified. Billions of dollars in military and economic aid started flowing into the Jewish state. Paraphrasing Noam Chomsky, Israel became America’s ‘aircraft carrier’ in the volatile Middle East. In case of instability and revolution in Saudi Arabia or Iraq etc., when America’s oil supply will be adversely affected, America could use Israel as a base and take over these countries or install a friendly government there. That was the thinking then.
The United States has doled out more than $260 billion in combined military and economic aid to Israel since World War-II as per US News, October 10, 2023. Additionally, America has spent $10 billion more for Israel’s missile defense systems like the Iron Dome. Israel has been the highest recipient of US aid for decades—even though, Israel is richer than European countries–while Egypt is the second highest recipient of US aid.
Since 1978, the United States has given out Egypt with over $50 billion in military and $30 billion in economic assistance. One might ask, “why is Egypt getting billions of dollars in aid?
Well, Egypt was the main power in the Middle East then who could challenge Israel’s supremacy in that region. This was proven by the Yom Kippur war of October 1973. So, to make Egypt a silent lamb, a power with about 100 million population who will not fight with Israel in any future neighbor countries’ wars, Egypt was promised billions of dollars’ aid every year. Otherwise, why would Egypt sign that treaty? So, basically, Egypt was bribed to sign that peace treaty in exchange for billions of dollars’ aid every year. That is why we see Egypt keeping quiet no matter how much Israel suppresses and kills other Arabs in Palestine or elsewhere.
In its wars with Palestinians, Israel has killed and injured more than hundred thousand Palestinian men, women and children while its own casualties number in very few thousands.
The big question is, how come Israel gets away with such criminal behavior? The simple answer is : The United States of America. In the current war in Gaza, United States is pretending to be urging Israel to negotiate an end to this conflict while at the same time is giving Israel billions of dollars in military aid! You can’t have it both ways. United States has been vetoing every resolution in the United Nations for ceasefire! How stupid can one be? You have to be a teenager to believe that United States is working for peace in the Gaza war.
Number of US Vetoes to Protect Israel in UN: Since 1972, the United States has vetoed United Nations Security Council (UNSC) Resolutions 53 times to protect Israel and its criminal activities. America’s solid support for Israel has enabled Israel to thwart resolutions condemning violence against protesters, its illegal settlements in the occupied territories and its several invasions in Gaza and its current brutal invasion and killings of more than 42,400 men, women and children in Gaza. And United States calls itself an upholder of human rights! What a shame! Mind you, Israel is getting away with all these criminal activities with full military, economic and diplomatic support from the United States.
Washington DC is Israel Occupied Territory: U.S. Middle East foreign policy is created in Tel Aviv.Thanks to AIPAC, the Israeli lobby and Right-wing Jewish billionaires and multimillionaires in America. And of course, there are many enlightened Jews who are opposed to Israel’s criminal policies in Palestine.
Iraq War of 2003: There is clear evidence that disastrous Iraq War that United States fought was to a great extent for the benefit Israel. Neocons—fanatic Israel supporters like Paul Wolfowitz, John Bolton or Richard Perle gang were advisers to the Bush Jr. and Dick Cheney regime. There were two objectives for the Immoral Iraq War: 1) To conquer and control Iraq’s vast oil resources and 2) to degrade Iraq’s military and its regime so that it could not challenge Israel. As per oxfordre.com, some 4,400 US troops were killed and 31,000 were wounded while more than a million Iraqi civilians were killed in that disastrous war. According to The Harward Kennedy School estimate, the Iraq War cost America some $3 trillion. America looks at the Middle East through the prism of Israel and not for the benefit of Americans.
AIPAC CONTROLS U.S. CONGRESS: You would think that the elected leaders of U.S. senate and the congress are brave, well-informed, intelligent and moral men and women. If you believe in this, then you are disillusioned and brainwashed. Totally untrue. These elected men and women—with rare exception–are poorly informed, lack the knowledge of history, suffer from arrogance, superiority complex, morally bankrupt, very corrupt and cowards. They lack an iota of humanity in them. They are all there for personal glorification, advantage and fame. They could care less for American people who are unaware of what is going on in Washington DC.
Once they get elected to U.S. Congress or the Senate, they keep busy raising money for their reelection. That is upmost in their mind. And here comes the AIPAC—American Israel Political Action Committee–,the crooked Israeli lobby that has sabotaged what remains of America’s dwindling ‘democracy’. It tells those who run for election for senate or congress, the lobby will give them $1million or more if they will vote for all the resolutions favoring Israel and will vote against any legislation that harms Israel. If they pledge to these conditions, they will get good funding for their election and their reelection campaigns in the future. So, all the aspiring candidates for president, congress and senate and the incumbent candidates for their current office agree and vote for all the legislations favoring Israel and vote against any resolution that harms Israel. Thus, the vast majority of U.S. Congress and Senate members are indebted to the cunning Israeli lobby, AIPAC. They are even afraid of this lobby. If any one of them votes against Israel’s interests, the lobby will target that congressman or senator in their reelection bid when it comes. They will pour millions of dollars in their opponent’s coffer and will likely defeat that candidate who had the audacity to oppose AIPAC’s dictate. Hence, all these elected officials including the presidents are afraid of this lobby.
Lobby’s power was obvious when during his visit to Washington DC and his address to the joint session of US Congress last July, he was greeted with standing ovations by our elected politicians. During his speech to this joint session of congress, he received 52 standing ovations from America’s corrupt and cowardly members. This shows you how gutless and morally lacking our elected politicians are. They greeted this man who had recently killed more than 40,000 innocent men, women and children in Gaza and was continuing that killing. This man, for whom there is a warrant for his arrest by the Internation Criminal Court.
During his visit, he was also greeted with protests over the Gaza war by people who were appalled by Israel’s killings. He called them “Iran’s useful idiots.” At least, Kamala Harris had good sense of not attending this session where Netanyahu gave his speech.
Other Lobbies: Then there are other lobbieswho have lot of control on America’s elected politicians such as the Defense Lobby, the Big Pharma Lobby, the Billionaires’ Pacs, the Oil industry Lobby and several more. They all control how America’s elected legislators vote by the money power of these lobbies. Morality, fairness or welfare of average American people has no bearing and are the last thing in their mind.
For example, majority of members of US Congress vote to increase America’s defense Budget every year. America spends $916 billion on defense budget, which is more than 9 countries combined who spend $883 billion. Several states in America has defense related industries who employ thousands of workers and brings in lot of revenue for that state. So, these senators and congressmen from these states are deeply indebted to these defense contractors.
These defense industries such as Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, General Dynamics and many others dole out billions of dollars for the reelection of America’s politicians. So, these corrupt elected leaders do the bidding of their paymasters by sanctioning billions of dollars for America’s bloated defense budget every year even though USSR is gone and there is no more big ‘enemy’ in sight.
All these billions of dollars are squandered manufacturing killing machines. America doles out $3.8 billion to Israel every year and President Biden has approved an aid package recently for $17 billion in additional support for Israel while more than 37 millions of Americans live in poverty in this richest country in the world. What a shame! The empire’s days are numbered and it is—like all the empires of the world—in downward spiral.
In conclusion, the world should know that Israel will be forced to agree tomorrow for two state solution if America bluntly told it to agree with it, stop the war and work for it. Israel’s brutal crimes in Gaza, West Bank and Lebanon have been going on and are continuing simply because it has America’s backing all the way.
Chaitanya Davé is an engineer and a businessman. He has authored three books: CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY: A Shocking Record of US Crimes since 1776-2007, COLLAPSE: Civilization on the Brink-2010, CAPITALISM’S MARCH OF DESTRUCTION: Replacing it with People and Nature-Friendly Economy.
28 October 2024
Source: countercurrents.org