Quote:
Originally Posted by purist 4.0
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As an American taxpayer, I'm not footing the bill for Bashar Assad's military. I'm footing the bill (unwillingly) for Israel's military, which makes me individually (as well as Americans collectively) complicit in said repression. The American taxpayer can therefore legitimately restrict his (or her) criticism to the slaughtering they unwillingly pay for.
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That's fair, but foreign aid is largely misrepresented. It's about buying influence as much as supporting regimes.
Aside from Israel, do you know who makes up the rest of our top 5 for foreign aid?
Egypt - $1.5 billion
Iraq - $1.6 billion
Pakistan - $2.1 billion
Afghanistan - $2.3 billion
Hardly friends. Pakistan was harboring Osama. And yet the checks roll in, because at the end of the day, we need a bargaining chip in that country and $2 billion buys us a bargaining chip.
Israeli support is a different breed, because it's popularly supported, but at the end of the day, that aid allows us to stay their hand when it comes to Iran and make strong suggestions -- if not directives -- when it comes to Palestine, Lebanon, and Syria. For a paltry $3 billion a year, the investment makes sense.