US 'surging' fresh munitions and air defence supplies, official says
The US military is “surging” fresh supplies of air defences, munitions and other security assistance to Israel to help it respond to an unprecedented weekend attack by Hamas, a senior US defence official told Pentagon reporters on Monday.
“Planes have already taken off,” the US official said, speaking on condition of anonymity to Pentagon reporters.
“We are surging support to Israel... We remain in constant ongoing contact with our counterparts in Israel to determine and then support their most urgent requirements.”
The United States has not yet detailed the extent of Israel’s requests for security assistance. But the official said Washington was contacting the defense industry to expedite pending Israeli orders, and looking at the US military’s own stockpiles to help fill Israeli gaps. Israel is apparently seeking additional artillery rounds, interceptor missiles for the Iron Dome missile defense system, and precision guided munitions. The Pentagon has also announced the deployment of the USS Gerald R. Ford carrier strike group to the Eastern Mediterranean as well as additional F-15 and F-35 fighter jets to the region.
The official also appeared to dismiss concerns that the United States might struggle to supply Israel at the same time that it funnels weaponry to Ukraine.
“We are able to continue our support both to Ukraine, to Israel, and maintain our own global readiness,” the official said.
Funny how Congress is baulking on the AUKUS deal with Australia but apparently has plenty of capacity to equip Israel.
This is not the US government making military supplies. It's taxpayers' funds diverted away from US societal needs and siphoned straight to the US "defence industry" war machine, with the 5 top largest arms-producing and military services companies in the world all being from the US (in descending order):
|
Company |
Major
Shareholders
|
|
Lockheed
Martin |
Vanguard,
State Street, BlackRock |
|
Raytheon |
Vanguard,
State Street, BlackRock |
|
Boeing |
Vanguard,
State Street, BlackRock |
|
Northrop
Grumman |
Vanguard,
State Street, BlackRock |
|
General
Dynamics Corp. |
Vanguard,
State Street, BlackRock |
The US continued to export weapons to Israel when it emerged in 2009, for example, that Israeli forces had indiscriminately used white phosphorus shells on Palestinians - a war crime, according to Human Rights Watch.
In 2014, Amnesty International accused Israel of the same charge for disproportionate attacks that killed scores of civilians in Rafah, southern Gaza. The following year, the export value of US weapons to Israel almost doubled,
US President Joe Biden "expressed his support for a ceasefire" on Monday 9 October 2023, under pressure from Senate Democrats. But it also emerged earlier in the day that his administration had recently approved $735m in weapons sales to Israel, the Washington Post reported.
Major defense stocks including Lockheed Martin added some $23 billion in market capitalization Monday 9 October 2023 following weekend attacks by Hamas against Israel.
And under a security assistance agreement spanning 2019-2028, the US has agreed - subject to congressional approval - to give Israel $3.8bn annually in foreign military financing, most of which it has to spend on US-made weapons.
That's around 20 percent of Israel's defence budget, according to NBC, and almost three-fifths of US foreign military financing worldwide.
But the US also sometimes gives additional funds, on top of its annual contribution. It has given an extra $1.6bn since 2011 for Israel’s Iron Dome anti-missile system, with parts that are made in the US
This video also explains how the US support's Israel's military.
But arms sales should not be seen in isolation. They are underpinned by a deep political support. The support of the US, in particular, is invaluable in terms of upholding the occupation and legitimising bombing campaigns like we have seen over recent days.
Friend of Israel? Or just keeping the shareholders of the US war machine happy? Follow the money.
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