In a Business Week commentary, Rep. Steve Rothman lays out how American military aid to Israel benefits the US.
First, it’s important to remember that about 70 percent of the $3 billion aid must be used by Israel to purchase American military equipment. This provides real support for U.S. high- tech defense jobs and contributes to maintaining our industrial base.
He also notes four other reasons: joint R&D projects, Israel's strategic location as a port of call for American military forces, a forward base for US arms stockpiles, and finally, regional intelligence sharing efforts. Rep. Rothman concludes:
A nuclear-armed Iran would threaten the lives of hundreds of thousands of Americans in the region, all of Iran’s Arab neighbors, the world’s largest oil supplies and those who rely on that oil. It also would provide anti-U.S. terrorists with access to the most lethal Iranian technology and probably set off a nuclear arms race in the region.
For about 2 percent of what the U.S. spends in Afghanistan, Iraq and Pakistan this year, Americans can take pride in the return on our investment in aid to Israel.
Also published at Bloomberg News.
