nhboy
Ubi bene ibi patria
"They say revenge is a dish best served cold.
It’s clear that President Obama got his revenge on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu this week. Netanyahu was forced to hail the new memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed between Washington and Jerusalem as a historic achievement for Israel.
It is nominally the largest commitment of aid that the United States has ever given to any country. Politically, Netanyahu can’t afford to admit that the agreement is far from perfect, and his spokesman constantly repeated what an excellent agreement it is.
Obama, too, hailed the agreement, stating, “The new MOU constitutes the single largest pledge of military assistance in U.S. history, totaling $38 billion over 10 years, including $33 billion in FMF [United States Foreign Military Financing] funds and an additional $5 billion in missile defense funding. Both Prime Minister Netanyahu and I are confident that the new MOU will make a significant contribution to Israel’s security in what remains a dangerous neighborhood.”
Critics of the agreement, led by former prime minister Ehud Barak, point out that the numbers are misleading. The agreement is the largest amount of aid ever only in nominal terms. Adjusted for inflation, the agreement is actually smaller that the previous MOU signed 10 years ago.
The critics, who also include Amos Yadlin, the former commander of military intelligence, posit that if Netanyahu had not addressed Congress in opposition to the Iran agreement, Israel would have been given better terms. They assert that Israel would have received more money and without the two restrictions in the deal that may prove harmful to Israel.
The first condition agreed to in the memorandum eliminates the long-standing practice of allowing Israel to use 25 percent of the aid for local purchases. The second is Israel’s commitment not to ask for any supplemental money from the Congress. Israel has further sent a letter committing to return any extra money if Congress were to allocate it.
It’s with this provision that Obama gets revenge on his three major opponents simultaneously without him nor his preferred successor paying any price."
Continue reading here: http://www.newsweek.com/tel-aviv-diary-obama-exacts-cold-revenge-netanyahu-499392
It’s clear that President Obama got his revenge on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu this week. Netanyahu was forced to hail the new memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed between Washington and Jerusalem as a historic achievement for Israel.
It is nominally the largest commitment of aid that the United States has ever given to any country. Politically, Netanyahu can’t afford to admit that the agreement is far from perfect, and his spokesman constantly repeated what an excellent agreement it is.
Obama, too, hailed the agreement, stating, “The new MOU constitutes the single largest pledge of military assistance in U.S. history, totaling $38 billion over 10 years, including $33 billion in FMF [United States Foreign Military Financing] funds and an additional $5 billion in missile defense funding. Both Prime Minister Netanyahu and I are confident that the new MOU will make a significant contribution to Israel’s security in what remains a dangerous neighborhood.”
Critics of the agreement, led by former prime minister Ehud Barak, point out that the numbers are misleading. The agreement is the largest amount of aid ever only in nominal terms. Adjusted for inflation, the agreement is actually smaller that the previous MOU signed 10 years ago.
The critics, who also include Amos Yadlin, the former commander of military intelligence, posit that if Netanyahu had not addressed Congress in opposition to the Iran agreement, Israel would have been given better terms. They assert that Israel would have received more money and without the two restrictions in the deal that may prove harmful to Israel.
The first condition agreed to in the memorandum eliminates the long-standing practice of allowing Israel to use 25 percent of the aid for local purchases. The second is Israel’s commitment not to ask for any supplemental money from the Congress. Israel has further sent a letter committing to return any extra money if Congress were to allocate it.
It’s with this provision that Obama gets revenge on his three major opponents simultaneously without him nor his preferred successor paying any price."
Continue reading here: http://www.newsweek.com/tel-aviv-diary-obama-exacts-cold-revenge-netanyahu-499392
