For those who thought that Obama was a "friend" of Israel, this article should start to change your minds. Let us make this clear--Obama is NOT a friend of Israel and is, in fact, its greatest enemy!
We believe that Netanyahu will be re-elected as Prime Minister which will frost Obama's buns. We expect to see worse relations than ever during this upcoming year.
Conservative Tom
For those doubters, here is another view of the sale of the planes.
http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Peace/2012/12/28/Congressmen-Obama-Reckless-to-Arm-Egypt-with-F-16-Fighter-Jets
Obama's F-16 Delivery Could Help Egypt Destroy Israel
Posted 12/11/2012 06:30 PM ET
Mideast: Why is the U.S. sending 20 advanced fighter jets to an Egypt that's now the giant question mark of the Middle East? President Obama is appeasing jihadists — and possibly signing Israel's death warrant.
When President Obama early in his presidency went to Cairo to apologize to the Muslim world, he made a point of saying "there are some who advocate for democracy only when they're out of power; once in power, they are ruthless in suppressing the rights of others."
To say such a thing in the capital of a country that had been at war with Israel, but which the U.S. helped transform into a valued ally, could only be interpreted as slamming then-Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.
"You must maintain your power through consent" because "elections alone do not make true democracy," Obama said.
But since Mubarak never won a legitimate election, Obama's remarks apply much more to Mubarak's successor, Mohammed Morsi, the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood leader who apparently did win a valid election.
Having last month grabbed dictatorial powers for himself, pulling multitudes of Egyptians into the streets to call for his expulsion, Morsi proved he was among those "for democracy only when they're out of power."
So why is it that next month the Obama administration will begin to send Morsi's government at least 20 F-16 jet fighters, filling an order placed by the Mubarak government two years ago?
In maneuverability and other features the F-16 is the best fighter jet in the world, and the U.S. has already made Egypt fourth in the world in F-16s, behind only ourselves, Israel and Turkey.
As with so much of the Obama foreign policy, the explanation can be found in the president's naivete. Maybe he thinks if we just act as if Mubarak is still there, Morsi will be a U.S. ally, just like Mubarak.
Right now, of course, we can't be sure Morsi will be around a year from now. Will he be replaced by a pro-Western figure like Ahmed Shafik, who came in second to Morsi in the presidential race?
Or by a liberal foe of U.S. foreign policy, like former U.N. nuclear arms watchdog chief Mohamed ElBaradei?
Or will Morsi repel the threat to his power by brutalizing his foes, thus proving to be a ruthless Islamist tyrant? Right now, we don't know to whom we're handing 20 of the most advanced military aircraft on the planet.
Whatever Egypt becomes in the years ahead, it is sure to be less a friend to America than it was under Mubarak and his predecessor, Anwar Sadat.
And if Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood — "an innately, incorrigibly Islamic-supremacist outfit," as National Review's Andrew McCarthy warns — consolidates power, the U.S. will have, inexcusably, armed Israel's would-be destroyer with the deadliest weaponry we have.
Read More At IBD: http://news.investors.com/ibd-editorials/121112-636671-obama-foolishly-arms-an-unstable-egypt.htm#ixzz2Gq5oj8xZ
Fact-checking….
ReplyDeleteThe United States has been "gun runner" to the world since the Reagan years. Military weapons are one of our biggest export commodities. This is true for every president. Over 4,500 F-16s have been manufactured. The following countries have purchased them:
Bahrain
• Belgium
• Chile
• Denmark
• Egypt
• Greece
• Indonesia
• Iraq
• Israel
• Jordan
• Morocco
• Netherlands
• Norway
• Oman
• Pakistan
• Poland
• Portugal
• Saudi Arabia
• Republic of China (Taiwan)
• Singapore
• South Korea
• Thailand
• Turkey
• United Arab Emirates
• United States
• Venezuela
•
Naturally, far more have been sold to Israel than any other country. I have not been able to find an exact count, but I think it is over 100. So the idea that Egypt (or any of these other countries) would launch a suicide mission against Israel with just 20 planes is laughable.
I wonder whether this guy knows that the dastardly Obama is selling a fleet of the most advanced fighter jets in the world (F-35) to Israel for $2.75 billion and Israeli pilots will be training on them in the U.S.?
--David
It is not the number that bothers me, but that they sold anything to this anti-American and anti-Israel dictator.
DeleteWe should NOT be supporting anti-democratic, anti American countries with any foreign aid.
Well, if that is your issue, then you must admit that Obama is not alone in selling weapons to "anti-American and anti-Israel dictators." This has been going on for decades under every president. Here is a list of 107 countries that purchased weapons from the U.S....
ReplyDeletehttp://www.nationmaster.com/graph/mil_us_mil_exp-military-us-exports
You won't have any problem finding "anti-American and anti-Israel dictators" on this list. This has been a cornerstone of our defense industry for decades. If you want to go back to Reagan, you could even add Iran to the list.
If you want to blame Obama for doing this, then you should extend that to all his predecessors. However, also like his predecessors, Obama has done vastly more arms exports to Israel than to Egypt to create the current balance of military power in the Middle East. In that context, numbers do matter.
--David