Saturday December 10, 2005

I've Been Thinking:

Once again, the United States is attempting to thwart an Israeli arms deal.
Last time it was with China.
This time it is with South Korea.

When it came to China, the US had a valid point. China is the enemy, plain and simple. And Israel gets so much aid from the US that it should not be selling arms to the only significant potential challenge to the United States in the world.

But South Korea? A deal for four early warning planes?
Israel outbid Boeing for the deal. They bid $1.25 billion, Boeing bid $2.1 billion.

First, the US used the "Korean war guilt" argument saying that American soldiers were killed fighting for Korean freedom 50 years ago. That didn't work so they resorted to bureaucratic obstacles demanding that Israel obtain export licenses from the United States Department of Commerce because the planes were constructed using some US parts.
This will not be the last deal the US tries to thwart. It happened with Venezuela and it happened with India.

Bottom line? The US is eliminating competition and Israel is becoming a real competitor in the arms market.