Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy has proposed that American military aid to Israel be cut off within five years, at which point he says it will no longer be needed, in view of the new treaties he claims he will conclude between Israel and its hostile neighbors.
In fact, the annual three billion dollars in American military aid now provided to Israel will be needed as long as the war waged against Israel by both states, including Iran, and by Palestinian terror groups in the West Bank and Gaza, continues. Israel does not shirk its own responsibilities, unlike NATO members who allow the US to carry most of the group’s financial burden. Israel spends far more, as a percentage of its GDP, than any other American ally. The members of NATO spend an average of 1.87% of GDP on defense; Israel spends on defense a minimum that is three times as high — 5.5% — as what the NATO countries, with the sole exception of the U.S., now spend. Indeed, in some years, the Jewish state has spent a far greater percentage of its GDP on defense (the highest figure was 30% in 1975). The Israelis, in other words, are not slackers in spending on defense. Threatened as the Jewish state has been, and will reman, as a target of jihad, Israel has earned the right to American military aid.
More of his thoughts on ending aid to Israel by 2028 can be found here: “Republican Jewish Group Pushes Back on Ramaswamy’s Stance Against Israel Aid,” by Alana Goodman, Washington Free Beacon, August 22, 2023:
“If we’re successful, the true mark of success for the U.S., and for Israel, will be to get to a 2028 where Israel is so strongly standing on its own two feet, integrated into the economic and security infrastructure of the rest of the Middle East, that it will not require and be dependent on that same level of historical aid or commitment from the U.S.,” Ramaswamy said.
What will keep the peace between Israel and the Arabs is not treaties, as Ramaswamy seems to think. It is, rather, deterrence. As long as Israel remains overwhelmingly, and obviously, stronger than any combination of its enemies, peace — that is, the absence of large-scale war — will continue. Israel would be foolish to entrust its security to treaties with Muslim Arabs. For Muslims, the exemplar of treaty-making is the agreement made by Muhammad with the Meccans at Hudaibiyya in 628 A.D. In that agreement, Muhammad entered into a “truce” treaty with the Meccans that was supposed to last for ten years. But after only 18 months, realizing that his forces had grown much stronger, Muhammad broke the treaty, attacked the Meccans, and successfully routed them. And that treaty-breaking has been the model ever since for Muslims: when making agreements with non-Muslims: whenever they feel “stronger,” they will do as Muhammad, the Model of Conduct and Perfect Man, did. They will ignore the treaty and attack the enemy. Is Vivek Ramaswamy familiar with the Treaty of Al-Hudaibiyya? He still has time to familiarize himself with that agreement, and the reason it was. breached, and why this matters so much today.
Israel is not just one more ally of the U.S., but its only sure military ally between Europe and India. It has been compared to a giant stationary aircraft carrier that America can count on, both as a place where, if need be, American planes could be positioned, and as a supplier of hundreds of advanced airplanes, UAVs, and other weapons that could be used if America called upon the Israeli military to assist it in the region, as for example, in an attack on Iran’s nuclear sites if the Islamic Republic appears to be only a few days away from manufacturing a bomb. Israel’s military also holds Hamas in check in Gaza, and prevents the terror group, which is the Palestinian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood, from taking over the West Bank from the P.A. It also shares intelligence about the Brotherhood and other Islamic threats with the governments of Egypt, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia. It is Israel that has kept Hezbollah within its lair in Lebanon, and Israeli threats of massive retaliation have so far prevented Hezbollah from launching any of its stockpile of 150,000 rockets into the Jewish state. Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant recently warned that if Hezbollah attacks the northern Galilee, “we will return Lebanon to the stone age.” Despite his huffing and puffing, the braggart-warrior and Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah has done nothing more than plant two Hezbollah flags just inside the Lebanese-Israeli border, then removed one, and now has dared the Israelis to remove the other. Nasrallah, by the way, who boasts of what terrible things his group can do to Israel, still changes his residence every few days, so scared is he of being assassinated by Israel.
Bexarkat says
True, one of the primary reasons that Egypt and Jordan signed peace accords with Israel is for the big payout in foreign aid they receive every year not to make war.
࿗Infidel࿘ says
Vivek Ramaswamy is not a politician, and he said right upfront that he’d say things that are not popular, but that he’d rather speak his mind rather than wonder which way the wind blows. So far, I have seen no reason to doubt it
His statement on Israel reveals this. IMO, the right approach to that question would be to say that he would first end all aid given to American’s enemies, as well as those who usually vote against us in the UN. Once that is done, then look at the aid that’s being given to Israel, & see if it can be renegotiated. Hopefully, that is done parallel to slashing huge percentages of the federal budget, be it on education, healthcare, energy & so on
I do disagree w/ one of the solutions he laid out about Israel, though. He suggested that Israel go into Abraham Accords 2 w/ Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar & Indonesia. Saudi Arabia & Oman agreed, Indonesia – worth exploring although Abraham Accords is more of an Arab trend and Indonesia, while muslim, doesn’t quite follow an Arab cultural blend. But suggesting Qatar in that list revealed his ignorance of foreign policy in the region: Qatar & Kuwait have been pretty obdurately anti-Israel, and Qatar has been the one Gulf country bankrolling the Muslim Brotherhood, and all resultant jihadist organizations. He should know better than to expect such things from Qatar, and while he’s brushing up on foreign policy, he should know to recognize Qatar and Turkey as adversaries, not allies
maria says
Ramaswamy should not be allowed to even try to be a President He should go to India he is a muslim or pro muslim so he is one of the bad people who are still in India
abu taleb says
Ramaswamy is a liar just like politicians. He took money from George Soros but he claimed he was not rich then while actually he was rich enough to be independent. I don’t trust him the same as I don’t trust politicians.
James C.A. Reid says
I like Vivek, a bright young man, did very well in that Republican Debate, just a few days back. However, here he is very naive. Innocent of the state. He’s applying his views to a situation& he thinks everybody will think the same as he does. He sees International Treaties as Law Abiding Agreements, whereas others, e.g. Dictatorships, Totalitarian Ideologies, simply seeing it as a tactic to buy Time, so they can push on at a later date, or place.
The ONLY Democracy in the Middle East is Israel. A fact that is often ignored.
The Arab countries surrounding Israel as simply Desert Nazis.
an says
Vivek does not know or afraid of Muslims.
Norman Gardner Gardner says
Vivek may be rich but he is also ignorant and terribly smug. He has never done any public service but accuses those who have of being bought & paid for, a very insulting remark reminicent of a spoiled brat. He says Russia and China are adversaries of America and yet wants to capitulate Ukraine to Russia. He would sell out his mother with this type of hypocracy .Americans overall despise. Trump is his own worst enemy, daring to threaten his opponents with violence.
terry says
Here in a nutshell is the core of the problem, it is Globalist/Western Elitism, packaged in a a semi-appealing billionaire; ” integrated into the economic and security infrastructure”, is anti-nation state thinking! Further, it is shear foolishness fueled by arrogance and pride to assume that rabid tigers can change their stripes! Islamism is supreme in it’s own eyes, and by it’s own words, even when smiling and shaking a hand for some phony treaties, set to create a Caliphate and have Islam dominate to rule and enslave the world! BUT, is this NOT also the endgame of Marxism, as well as the crony mock capitalism of the Globalist Elites, (for markets dictated, regulated, and enforced to ensure sole market hegemony is NOT free market capitalism); we all well know it is! Enough with all the mad men and women trying to rule, own, and dictate to the rest of the world. These people are sociopaths! Psychotic psychopath’s! Almost 98% of the violence, rape, murder, pillage, destruction in our world is irrefutably blood on the hands of these proud boasters of themselves! Where we are today is as ‘mad, mad, world’ as the hell which the leaders of our globe have unleashed! Luciferian ideals!