Responding to a question from Bret Baier [this month at the Republican candidates’ first debate] , one of the evening’s moderators, Kentucky Senator Rand Paul, who favors eliminating all U.S. foreign aid, said, “Each one of my budgets has taken a meat axe to foreign aid….”
When asked if that would harm Israel, Paul said, “…even Benjamin Netanyahu said that, ultimately, they will be stronger when they’re independent.”
Baier followed up by asking: “But you still say that Israel could be one of the countries that is cut from financial aid?”
Paul responded that “we cannot give away money we don’t have.”
Never mind that all U.S. foreign aid to all the countries of the world combined only amounts to much less than 1% of our nation’s budget. We’d be better off if he took his meat axe to entitlement programs which account for more than two-thirds of the U.S. budget.
The point is that cutting off aid to Israel is a bad idea. Sometimes you have to spend money to save money.
Buying (and using) a toothbrush may save money on dental bills. Buying oil changes will save money on later auto repair bills.
U.S. aid to Israel, which is about half of what we give to Afghanistan, works the same way. Israel is the only stable democracy in the region. Of all the countries in the Middle East, only Israel’s security needs coincide completely with those of the United States.
Several countries in the Middle East, Iran foremost among them, have vowed to wipe Israel from the map. They don’t attempt it for one simple reason: Israel’s military strength. So continuing to help Israel stay militarily strong saves money and lives by deterring those attacks.
A strong, stable Israel is far cheaper than a Middle Eastern war. One that we would have to spend bIllions of dollars and much blood to end.
To those who wish to end U.S. assistance to Israel, I say simply: Let’s not be penny wise and pound foolish. The Bible says it stronger. God says that He will bless those who bless and protect Israel. He will curse those who curse or abandon her.
from The Hal Lindsey Report – August 14, 2015
