[Peace-discuss] [sf-core] 'It will lead to war' - Ron Paul on military aid to Israel

[C. G. Estabrook]

Mr. Speaker: I rise in opposition to H.R. 4133, the United States- 
Israel Enhanced Security Cooperation Act, which unfortunately is  
another piece of one-sided and counterproductive foreign policy  
legislation. This bill’s real intent seems to be more saber-rattling  
against Iran and Syria, and it undermines U.S. diplomatic efforts by  
making clear that the U.S. is not an honest broker seeking peace for  
the Middle East.

The bill calls for the United States to significantly increase our  
provision of sophisticated weaponry to Israel, and states that it is  
to be U.S. policy to “help Israel preserve its qualitative military  
edge” in the region.

While I absolutely believe that Israel — and any other nation — should  
be free to determine for itself what is necessary for its national  
security, I do not believe that those decisions should be underwritten  
by U.S. taxpayers and backed up by the U.S. military.

This bill states that it is the policy of the United States to  
“reaffirm the enduring commitment of the United States to the security  
of the State of Israel as a Jewish state.” However, according to our  
Constitution, the policy of the United States government should be to  
protect the security of the United States, not to guarantee the  
religious, ethnic, or cultural composition of a foreign country. In  
fact, our own Constitution prohibits the establishment of any  
particular religion in the U.S.

More than 20 years after the reason for NATO’s existence — the Warsaw  
Pact — has disappeared, this legislation seeks to find a new mission  
for that anachronistic alliance: the defense of Israel. Calling for  
“an expanded role for Israel within the North Atlantic Treaty  
Organization (NATO), including an enhanced presence at NATO  
headquarters and exercises,” it reads like a dream for  
interventionists and the military-industrial complex. As I have said  
many times, NATO should be disbanded, not expanded.

This bill will not help the United States, it will not help Israel,  
and it will not help the Middle East. It will implicitly authorize  
much more U.S. interventionism in the region at a time when we cannot  
afford the foreign commitments we already have. It more likely will  
lead to war against Syria, Iran, or both. I urge my colleagues to vote  
against this bill.


On May 9, 2012, at 10:56 PM, C. G. Estabrook wrote:

> http://rt.com/usa/news/paul-military-israel-united-865/
>
> __._,
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