Burning Issues: US military aid to Israel

About 'The Road to the White House'

Question #7

Contributors: (read it all or click on name to read post)

Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York (D)

Senator Barack Obama of Illinois (D)

Senator John McCain of Arizona (R)

Former Senator John Edwards of North Carolina (D)

Hillary Clinton: I support the recently announced Memorandum of Understanding signed between the United States and Israel to increase US military aid to Israel. Now, more than ever, it important that we help Israel keep its qualitative and technological military edge in an increasingly dangerous region.

Decisions that impact the national security of the United States must be made based on our best interests. Therefore, it is a false choice to try to set a choice between national security and domestic investment. The United States must be able to do both.

However, I do have reservations about the Bush Administration's announcement of a substantial military aid package to countries in the Persian Gulf.
      
First, I want to be certain that Israel's qualitative edge is sustained no matter what the United States ultimately sells to Saudi Arabia and others.

Second, I have concerns about the sequencing. I think we needed to see evidence of genuine Saudi cooperation in pursing stability in Iraq and Lebanon and in supporting our efforts to foster peace between the Israelis and Palestinian, before we move ahead with such a significant arms sale. We also need Saudi cooperation in stopping the export of radical Islam from the Kingdom.

Barack Obama: I support the recent agreement to increase military assistance, as part of the United States' unique defense relationship with Israel, which serves the security interests of both our countries. The current Administration's failed policies in Iraq, in a war that never should have been authorized, have strengthened Iran and emboldened Hamas and Hizbullah, heightening the threats to Israel.

That makes it more important than ever that the United States live up to its commitment to ensure Israel's qualitative military edge, which will help Israel deter and repel attacks from as far as Teheran and as close as Gaza. 
 
The current Administration's approach to the federal budget has resulted in massive deficits, with every dime they spend adding to our nation's debt. By getting back to sound budgeting practices, we can invest in our priorities at home and abroad without having to make our children pay for it. 

As president, I will double our annual investment in foreign assistance to $50 billion by 2012 and ensure that those new resources are directed toward worthwhile goals. 

Extremely poor societies and weak states provide optimal breeding grounds for disease, terrorism, and conflict, so the United States has a direct national security interest in dramatically reducing global poverty and joining with our allies in sharing more of our riches to help those most in need. 

We need to invest in building capable, democratic states that can establish healthy and educated communities, develop markets, and generate wealth. Such states would also have greater institutional capacities to fight terrorism, halt the spread of deadly weapons, and build health-care infrastructures to prevent, detect, and treat deadly diseases such as HIV/AIDS, malaria, and avian flu. 

Our rapidly growing international AIDS programs have demonstrated that increased foreign assistance can make a real difference. As part of this new funding, I will capitalize a $2 billion Global Education Fund that will bring the world together in eliminating the global education deficit, and counter the radical madrasas that have filled so many young minds with messages of hate.

But our assistance will not come as a blank check. I will couple our support with an insistent call for reform, to combat the corruption that rots societies and governments from within. I will also insist that any nation we provide assistance to refrain from actions that undermine important American national interests.

For example, Egypt is an important ally, and our aid to them since the Camp David Accords has served our interests. But I question promising billions more in arms ahead of help for creating a more just society in Egypt. And promising this aid without a commitment from Egypt for a serious effort to end the smuggling of arms to Gaza, which is a serious threat, makes little sense.
 
In the case of the Gulf states, we should insist on a demonstrated commitment to combat terror and extremism, in Iraq and beyond, before promising massive arms sales. We should also insist that the Saudis, especially, participate constructively in any effort to solve the Israeli-Palestinian situation. We should be rewarding people for stepping up to the plate after they do so, not in hopes of their doing so.

John McCain: I strongly support increased US assistance, to include providing needed military equipment and technology, for our democratic ally Israel in order to maintain its qualitative military edge relative to its regional adversaries as they acquire and seek more potent military capabilities - often from outside suppliers, such as Russia in the case of Syria and Iran.

Israel's enemies are too numerous, its margin of error too small, and our shared interests and values too great for any other position. 

In the US Senate, I have supported efforts, for example, to rebalance US assistance to Egypt from large-scale military aid to greater support for governance, judicial, and educational reforms.  I also support greater US assistance for real judicial, governance, and educational reforms across the broader Middle East, including in Saudi Arabia. 

Expanding economic opportunity and promoting democratic institutions, grounded in, among other things, a functioning and impartial judiciary, a free press, a robust political opposition, and respect for women's and minority rights, are vital elements to an enduring peace in the region.   

John Edwards: I strongly support the decision to increase aid to Israel — our ally and partner — to ensure its security, while doing everything in our power to achieve peace and stability in this vital part of the world. Israel and the US have a deep and fruitful friendship. 

The US must do everything it can, through diplomatic, economic, and military aid, to maintain Israel ’s qualitative edge and keep Israel strong and safe in a dangerous region.  America must always stand by our friend, the only democracy in the region.

With respect to other countries in the region - including Saudi Arabia - I believe we must use both carrots and sticks to manage our relationships to ensure that they invest in policies that benefit regional stability and the security of America and our allies. 

That is why I have opposed, for example, a proposed $20 billion arms deal that isn't in the long-term interests of our country or the region. This deal has serious shortcomings—it doesn't force Saudi Arabia to stop terrorists from going into Iraq , make a real effort to help stabilize Iraq , lead regional security talks or assure the arms will not be used for offensive purposes. Congress should do the right thing and block the deal.