Dr. Aaron Lerner is co-founder of IMRA, Independent Media Review and Analysis, an Israel-based news organization which provides an extensive digest of media, polls and significant interviews and events relating to the Israeli-Arab conflict. imra@netvision.net.il
Honest examination of destabilizing potential of military sales needed
By Dr. Aaron Lerner
April 13, 2007 Bookmark to del.icio.us
"The proposed sale of this equipment and support will not affect the basic military balance in the region"
So proclaims every announcement of a sale of U.S. military equipment to Israel's neighbors.
Not because it is necessarily true, but because the declaration is required by law.
In fact, there is no set procedure, no established criteria for analysis, no guidelines whatsoever associated with the requirement to include this declaration.
As a result the declaration appears simply because it is required.
And the Government of the United States of America finds itself engaged in a bizarre form of circular logic: since U.S. military equipment can only be supplied to Israel's neighbors if it "will not affect the basic military balance in the region" and the sale is going to be made then it follows that the sale "will not affect the basic military balance in the region"
Why bizarre?
For this boiler plate statement to be in fact true would mean that the US sells literally billions of dollars of apparently worthless weapons systems to the Arabs.
Why worthless?
Because these many billions of dollars of US made weapons never "affect the basic military balance in the region".
Many years ago, when Congress required that the sales not "affect the basic military balance in the region" the idea wasn't to require a mindless declaration but instead serious consideration of the impact of each sale.
It is high time for Congress to revisit the issue and insist that a system of procedures be established to put this farce to an end.
Views expressed by the author do not
necessarily reflect those of israelinsider.
Click on the blue headline to read a Talkback comment and respond to it. Click on the icon to send a private email to the talkback writer. The icon appears only if the writer has decided to be contacted. If no popup window appears, please make sure your popup blocker allows israelinsider.com.
icon to send a private email to the talkback writer. The icon appears only if the writer has decided to be contacted. If no popup window appears, please make sure your popup blocker allows israelinsider.com.