[bushbaba]

That’s over simplifying it. but it’s not aid, more like strategic interests aligned. For example the U.S. aid prevented Israel from continuing development and selling its own fighter jets. It gives U.S. arms actual military exposure in dense urban warfare. There’s lots of joint benefits here.

[luaybs]

There is no benefit other than the profit made by the companies manufacturing this "aid", payed for by the American taxpayer via the US congress and government.

[nivertech]

Real aid must be provided with no strings attached.

Much of this so-called "aid" comes with the condition that it be spent in the US. This prevents us from developing our own weapons, selling them to whomever we want, and diversifying our sources of military supplies.

In addition, the US provides much more "aid" to our enemies.

Also, part of this "aid" is used to financially bribe our generals. Essentially making them American "Foreign Agents of Influence" in the spirit of FARA[1], not as literal spies. Unfortrunatelly we lack legislation like FARA, so it's still legal here.

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[1] https://www.justice.gov/nsd-fara

[lostlogin]

> the US provides much more “aid” to our enemies.

Could you explain this? The US arms Israel’s enemies?

[nivertech]

The only real peace (aka "normalization") we have (had?) is with the UAE.

We only have "peace" with Egypt and Jordan on paper.

This is much worse than a cold war situation between the US and the Soviet Union back in the time.

Their armies still define Israel as their main enemy.

These countries are not safe for Israelis to travel.

In Jordan's case we only have "peace" with the foreign royal family imposed by Britain. And even that doesn't include their queen ;)

And yes, US provided and still provides military aid to terror group such as PLO, Fatah, even Hamas and PIJ (under the pretext of humanitarian aid).

US even removed Houthis from the list of terror group in order to give them money (and just recently put them back on the list).

Similarly with lifting sanctions on Iran, which resulted in giving them $10B.

---

  U.S. Foreign Assistance to the Middle East:
  Historical, Recent Trends, and the FY2024
  Background Request
  Updated August 15, 2023

https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R46344

[JacobiX]

From the same report, "U.S. Foreign Assistance to the Middle East": Israel has been the largest cumulative recipient of U.S. foreign assistance since World War II, receiving $158 billion. Jordan for example received $26.4 billion from 1951 to 2020.

>> Similarly with lifting sanctions on Iran, which resulted in giving them $10B.

In the case of Iran, it was not a matter of receiving $10 billion in aid, but rather the release of $10 billion of Iranian funds that had been frozen.

[nivertech]

> From the same report, "U.S. Foreign Assistance to the Middle East": Israel has been the largest cumulative recipient of U.S. foreign assistance since World War II, receiving $158 billion. Jordan for example received $26.4 billion from 1951 to 2020.

Check again, the majority of the "aid" got to our enemies in MENA (and that excluding non-Arab enemy and semi-enemy countries, which are for some reason not included in MENA).

Look at:

  - Figure 2. U.S. Foreign Aid to MENA Countries: FY1946-FY2020
  - Figure 3. Israel, Jordan, and Egypt in the FY2024 Assistance Request for MENA
  - Table 1. U.S. Bilateral Aid to MENA Countries: FY2021 - FY2024 Request

The majority of this "aid" (~56%) goes to enemies and semi-enemies (and that's even excluding hostile non-Arab countries in the region).

--

>> Similarly with lifting sanctions on Iran, which resulted in giving them $10B.

> In the case of Iran, it was not a matter of receiving $10 billion in aid, but rather the release of $10 billion of Iranian funds that had been frozen.

Did I wrote somewhere that Iran got $10B aid?

What you wrote is factually correct, but the net effect is that Iran got $10B which they didn't had access to before.

[JacobiX]

Not sure why you consider those countries as ennemies (or semi-enemy) ?

For example, Jordan has maintained a position as a key major non-NATO ally of the United States within the Middle East (since 1996).

Also starting from 1989, both Egypt and Israel became major non-NATO allies of the US.

[lostlogin]

That puts rather a different spin on things. Arming one with weapons, versus letting the other have its money.

Neither meet my definition of ‘aid’.

[nivertech]

> versus letting the other have its money

OK, let Putin have his money then.

The truth is, US giving "aid", imposing or lifting sanctions exactly to protect their interests, and to increase their leverage, not because they care about other countries in question.

For decades our country tries to get rid of this "aid", but it's virtually impossible.

[lostlogin]

It’s so complicated.

Hamas was elected if memory serves, and while getting them to renounce violence would seem ideal, how could they? Israel wasn’t going to. They have behaved terribly and until someone starts behaving better, it’s going to carry on as it has for so long. Peace with Egypt has been maintained and relations with Egypt seem to be improving and are ok - what am I missing? There seems very little chance of war.

[nivertech]

Egypt violated almost every signed treaty.

Sinai was supposed to be a demilitarized zone, slowly it was filled with the Egyptian army. Egypt built multiple tunnels under the Suetz canal.

Yet our governments and military still trying to appease them, in the same way as they did to Hamas.

And how do you think all these advanced weapons (RPGs, anti-tank missiles, thermal bombs, etc.) got into 'azza[1]? How did their terrorists go to train in Iran?

Why do you think Egypt opposes an Israeli presence on the border in Raphiakh[2]?

---

[1,2] I'm using the original biblical place names here, instead of the English distortion of a broken Arabic pronunciation of their Hebrew names.

[lostlogin]

I’m surprised at this. According to the Wiki, Israel has agreed to Egyptian military being there. Relations have thawed a lot as far as I can tell.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egypt–Israel_peace_treaty