THE US GAINS FAR MORE FROM ITS MILITARY AID TO ISRAEL THAN
THEY GET FROM ANY OTHER COUNTRY.
Detractors of Israel like to jump on the figure of $3.8
Billion (2019) that the United States gives to Israel for its military defense.
What they do not take into consideration are three important
factors that make the US-Israel defense relationship truly unique.
1. The $3.8 Billion defense
budget that the United States is giving Israel in 2019 is split between $3.3
Billion which is conditional on Israel spending 100% of that figure on
US-manufactured military hardware. In other words, this is budget that goes
entirely on the US-based military industry. The remaining $5 Billion is
allocated for missile defense systems such as the American built (with Israeli
technology) Iron Dome and Patriot missile defense systems. In other words, a
joint venture of sorts between the United States and Israel.
2. It is important to look
beyond the simple figure of $3.8 Billion and not treat it as if it is a one-way
transaction to Israel’s exclusive benefit. Nothing can be further from the
truth. The United States gains massively by a few hundred percent rate of
return for the initial investment by having Israel as a battle-tested
laboratory for the US defense industry and the Armed Forces products.
This is achieved through a list of
modifications and upgrades to some of the most sophisticated US military
equipment and systems that the US would never get from any other source save
for their own military which does not have the same geographic intimacy of an
enemy so close that it calls for split second responses against all forms of
military attacks experienced exclusively by Israel on a weekly, even daily,
basis.
Israel provides the US with unique
and vital military intelligence, saving US lives, both military and civilian.
Israeli intelligence improves the
US war on terror and undermines the position of US enemies and adversaries.
3. Perhaps the greatest cost
saving to the US, both in terms of blood and treasure, gained by its
relationship with Israel, is the fact that Israel is an extension of America without
the United States requiring to place “boots on the ground” and the vast savings
that come from not having US troops deployed in Israel.
Unlike other Middle East and
European allies of the United States, Israel does not require American troops
to physically defend our country or to be stationed here. This alone saves the
United States many billions of dollars as can be seen in the following
examples.
As opposed to Israel’s annual military aid
grant of $3.8 Billion, the United States spends $4.89 Billion in Afghanistan. 74%
of that figure is on military aid in keeping their solders there.
The United States has 28,500 troops
stationed in South Korea. The annual boots on the ground cost is an estimated
$7 Billion with a further $1.1 Billion spent on what is called non-military
personnel.
In peaceful Japan the figure is even higher
with 50,000 American troops stationed there. The annual cost is given at $12
Billion with a further $2 Billion spent on non-military personnel.
These figures only cover the cost of
maintaining troops and supporting personnel in foreign countries. They do not
include the additional costs of the military hardware, equipment, construction,
and operating systems used in these countries.
These figures dwarf the annual figure that
America gives its greatest ally, Israel. The US investment and return on
investment in new product development andr vital intelligence is minimal
compared to the benefits that Israel provides the United States.
If we add Europe to the equation, there are
55,000 American troops stationed in three European countries alone – Germany
35,000, Italy 12,000, Britain 8000. There are US troops in many other European
countries.
It is estimated that the average cost per
annum of stationing military personnel abroad is between $10,000 - $40,000 per
person. That does not include
infrastructure costs, etc.
In Europe, NATO pays 33% of the cost, an
estimated $2.5 Billion. This puts the US contribution to its military personnel
in Europe at a minimum of $5 Billion annually. This alone is 30% more than
Israel receives annually.
President Trump is trying to get NATO cover
even more of this cost, thereby reducing the cost to the American taxpayer.
The Pentagon pegged the cost of the US
presence in Germany, Japan and South Korea in 2019 to be $21 Billion. This
figure includes military pay, operational spending, military construction.
Compare that $21 Billion, which is spent in
the three named countries, to Israel’s $3.8 Billion, which is returned to the
United States in full to an expanded US military industry, and one easily see
the massive benefit that America gains by having battle-tested Israel as their
main and trusted partner.
As a As a final shot
at budget comparisons, The United States spent an estimated $81 Billion in
2018,
to
protect foreign countries oil supplies. Now compare that to the $3.8 Billion that
the US gives Israel to use and test its military hardware. It’s chickenfeed.
The The United States
gains far more from US aid to Israel than any other country on earth.
Barry
Shaw is the International Public Diplomacy Director at the Israel Institute for
Strategic Studies.
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