Primer

"Since 1973, Israel has cost the United States about $1.6 trillion. If divided by today's population, that is more than $5,700 per person," is the opening sentence in the article "Economist Tallies Swelling Cost of Israel to U.S." which appeared in the December 9th issue of the Christian Science Monitor. The article vastly overstates the size of American foreign aid to Israel, saying that Uncle Sam spends twice as much money backing Israel "in its drawn-out, violent dispute with the Palestinians" than it did on fighting in Vietnam. Charitable donations from Jewish organizations aren't spared the poison pen despite the fact that they're private, because the donations are a "net drain" on America's economy.

Why was this issue raised at this time?

The issue of foreign aid is particularly sensitive as Israel has asked the Bush administration for $4 billion in new direct aid and $8-10 billion in loan guarantees to cope with an intifada-spurned economic crisis and costs related to a U.S.-led war with Iraq.

Inaccuracies in the article

	The facts
The author of the article claims to have tallied the total cost to the US of its backing of Israel ?in its drawn-out, violent dispute with the Palestinians. So far, he figures, the bill adds up to more than twice the cost of the Vietnam War."	The reality is that most US assistance is provided to Israel so that she can defend herself against neighbors who, throughout her history and through at least 5 wars, have tried, and many continue to try, to obliterate the Jewish state. Israel's current war with the Palestinians is just one, relatively small war, Israel has had to fight. US military assistance has helped assure Israel's survival against these larger threats.

"...when President Nixon resupplied Israel with US arms in 1973, it triggered the Arab oil embargo... which kicked off a deep recession.....costing the US $420 billion in lost output and $450 billion in rising oil prices.".	In 1973 Arab nations attacked Israel in an attempt to win back territories Israel had conquered in another war in which the Jewish state was attacked. The author attempts to tag Israel with that bill, when in fact, the Arab countries who attacked her should be held accountable.

"The US has already guaranteed $10 billion in commercial loans to Israel...and expects the US Treasury to cover these."	There is no basis in fact for that statement. In fact, Israel has repaid and is fully repaying those loan guarantees, and the scoring costs associated with them. The US government is not only not losing money on those guarantees, but is actually making money on them.

"Israel uses roughly 40 percent of its $1.8 billion per year in military aid.......to buy Israeli-made hardware"	Israel does not spend 40% of its aid to purchase Israeli hardware. That figure is 26% and is used primarily for research and development in Israel in order to ensure that Israel continues to have a qualitative edge against its numerically superior enemies. The reality is that 74% of Israel's military assistance is spent to purchase American equipment and weapons.

"US policy and trade sanctions reduce US exports to the Middle East about $5 billion a year, costing 70,000 or so American jobs"	The article states that US trade sanctions to Middle East countries cost the US $5 billion a year. The fact is that most of those sanctions have little, if anything, to do with Israel. They are imposed largely against terrorist-supporting states like Syria, Iran, Iraq and Libya that are pursuing anti-American policies and active support for terrorists.

"Israel has blocked some major US arms sales, such as F-15 fighter aircraft to Saudi Arabia in the mid-1980s"	The article talks about Israel blocking US arms sales to Arab countries. The fact is that no such sales have been blocked in close to 20 years. As the Primer notes, Israel's improvements in US weapons systems and ideas for new equipment have saved the US military many millions of dollars and countless lives throughout the years

"In addition, the US has given Egypt $117 billion and Jordan $22 billion in foreign aid in return for signing peace treaties with Israel."	Those outlays are considered part of the total package of support for Israel which is nonsense. The people of Egypt and Jordan benefited from this foreign aid, not the people of Israel.

How does the Christian Science Monitor balance these overblown claims?

With one lone sentence: "Many Americans would probably say it is money well spent to support a beleaguered democracy of some strategic interest."

Of "some strategic interest?"

Israel is America's most trusted and reliable ally in the Middle East, the only state in the Middle East that publicly declares support for the U.S. -- despite the fact that Israel may bear the brunt of Saddam's weapons when an American offensive begins.
Israel is on the frontline in the battle against Islamic terrorists, and provides the U.S. with key intelligence information and frontline military operations. As opinionjournal.com notes: "In 1981 Israel destroyed Iraq's Osirak reactor, setting back Saddam Hussein's quest for nuclear weapons. How much money and how many lives did this end up saving America?"
As the lightening rod for Arab wrath that would otherwise be (and is now in any event) directed at the U.S., Israel has allowed the U.S. the benefit of two decades without serious domestic counter-terrorism expenditures.
Israel is the sole democracy in the Middle East, a region dominated by authoritarian and military regimes. Israel upholds Western ideals of freedom of expression, a free market economy, equal opportunity, women's rights, judicial review, and minority representation in elected offices. The U.S. spends untold billions spreading the ideals of democracy around the world; in Israel, it comes for free.
Israel partners with the U.S. in technological development, medical research, agricultural innovations, and a wide range of cultural exchanges. In addition, many Israeli-developed technologies serve as integral components of the U.S. military arsenal. American business have benefited immeasurably from having a trading partner and, more importantly, a source of marketable technology in an otherwise barren wasteland in the Mid-East.
Aid Sends a Strong Signal of Support: At a time when Israel is isolated in the world and is fighting the very lonely battle against the forces of extremism and terrorism, U.S. support sends a loud and unmistakable message – that we stand strongly with Israel and will provide it with the assistance it needs to remain strong and secure. This message of unshakable U.S. support needs to be heard, not just by Israel’s enemies, but by the people of Israel.

In Conclusion........

On the broader point, in addition to the inaccuracies and mischaracterizations in the article, the article misses the big picture. Not only do the American people support Israel's existence and not only does Israel help secure important US foreign policy and national security objectives, but isolating the costs of one component of national security, without calculating the benefits, is unfair and misleading. To cite one comparison, for example, it is estimated that the costs of defending Europe, through NATO, have been over $100 billion a year - and we have been participating for over 50 years! The costs of a war against Saddam Hussein will be well over $100 billion in direct costs and could go far higher in indirect costs. National security does not come cheap, particularly for a superpower like the United States.

Click here to read the entire article as it was printed in the Christian Science Monitor