[WCUSP] Israel & US' Arms Export Control Act

[KATHARLOW at aol.com]

Published on Tuesday, July 18, 2006 by the _Inter Press Service _ 
(http://www.ipsnews.net/) 
Israel Violates Law on U.S.  Weapons in Mideast 
by Thalif Deen
UNITED NATIONS - Israel is in violation of U.S. arms control laws for  
deploying U.S.-made fighter planes, combat helicopters and missiles to  kill 
civilians and destroy Lebanon's infrastructure in the ongoing six-day  devastation of 
that militarily-weak country. The death toll, according  to published 
reports, is over 200 people -- mostly civilians -- while the  economic losses have 
been estimated at about 100 million dollars per day.  
"Section 4 of the (U.S.) Arms Export Control Act requires that military  
items transferred to foreign governments by the United States be used  solely for 
internal security and legitimate self-defense," says Stephen  Zunes, professor 
of politics at the University of San Francisco.  
"Since Israeli attacks against Lebanon's civilian infrastructure and  
population centers clearly go beyond legitimate self-defense, the United  States is 
legally obliged to suspend arms transfers to Israel," Zunes told  IPS.  
Frida Berrigan, a senior research associate with the _Arms Trade  Resource 
Center_ (http://worldpolicy.org/projects/arms/)  at the World Policy Institute 
in New York, is equally  outraged at the misuse by Israel of U.S.-supplied 
weapons.  
"As Israel jets bombard locations in Gaza, Haifa and Beirut, killing  
civilians (including as many as seven Canadians vacationing in Aitaroun),  it is 
worth remembering that U.S. law is clear about how U.S.-origin  weapons and 
military systems ought to be used," Berrigan told IPS.  
She pointed out that the U.S. Arms Export Control Act clear states that  U.S. 
origin weapons should not be used for "non-defensive purposes."  
"In light of this clear statement, the United States has an opportunity  to 
stave off further bloodshed and suffering by demanding that its  weaponry and 
military aid not be used in attacks against Lebanon and  elsewhere, and 
challenging Israeli assertions that it is using military  force defensively," she 
added.  
That would demonstrate the kind of "utmost restraint" that world  leaders 
called for at the G8 Summit of the world's most industrialized  nations, which 
just ended in St. Petersburg, Russia.  
The 25-member European Union has said that Israel's military  retaliation 
against Lebanon is "grossly disproportionate" to the  kidnapping of two Israeli 
soldiers last week by the Islamic militant group  Hezbollah, which is a 
coalition partner of the U.S.-supported government  in Beirut.  
Israel has accused both Syria and Iran of providing rockets and  missiles to 
Hezbollah, which has used these weapons to hit mostly civilian  targets inside 
Israel.  
Israel's prodigious military power -- currently unleashed on a  virtually 
defenseless Lebanon -- is sourced primarily to the United  States.  
Armed mostly with state-of-the-art U.S.-supplied fighter planes and  combat 
helicopters, the Israeli military is capable of matching a  combination of all 
or most of the armies in most Middle Eastern countries,  including Iran, 
Syria, Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia.  
The air force has continued to devastate Beirut and its suburbs with no  
resistance in the skies during six days of incessant bombings, causing  civilian 
deaths and infrastructure destruction.  
"The Israeli Air Force now flies only U.S.-origin fighters, a mix of  F-15s 
and F-16s, and the rest of the service's fleet is almost completely  of U.S. 
origin," says Tom Baranauskas, a senior Middle East analyst at  Forecast 
International, a leading provider of defense market intelligence  services in the 
United States.  
While in earlier years Israel bought from a variety of arms suppliers,  with 
the French in particular being strong sellers to Israel of such items  as 
Mirage fighters, over the past couple of decades the United States has  developed 
into Israel's preponderant arms supplier, he added.  
"The U.S. domination as Israel's arms supplier can be seen in the  
Congressional Research Service's (CRS) annual study of arms sales,"  Baranauskas told 
IPS.  
He said the latest CRS survey shows a total of 8.4 billion dollars of  arms 
deliveries to Israel in the 1997-2004 period, with fully 7.1 billion  dollars 
or 84.5 percent coming from a single source: the United States.  
A major factor in this trend was the rise in U.S. Foreign Military  Financing 
(FMF) -- outright U.S. grants to Israel -- which now totals  about 2.3 
billion dollars a year paid for by U.S. taxpayers.  
By U.S. law, Baranauskas said, 74 percent of FMF assistance to Israel  must 
be spent on U.S. military products. This U.S. assistance has now  become the 
main source of financing for Israel's major arms procurements,  especially its 
fighter planes.  
>From a historical perspective, he said, U.S. assistance to Israel  during 
1950-2005 has been staggeringly high: Foreign Military Financing  (FMF) amounting 
to 59.5 billion dollars; 27 billion dollars in Foreign  Military Sales (FMS) 
mostly government-to-government arms transactions;  and eight billion dollars 
in commercial arms sales by the private sector.  
Berrigan of the Arms Trade Resource Center said the United States is  
undoubtedly the primary supplier of Israeli firepower.  
In the interest of strengthening Israel's security and maintaining the  
country's "qualitative military edge" over neighboring militaries, the  U.S. 
Congress provides Israel with annual FMF grants that represent about  23 percent of 
its overall defense budget. Israel's 2006 military budget is  estimated at 7.4 
billion dollars.  
According to the Congressional Research Service, FMF levels are  expected to 
increase incrementally by 60 million dollars a year to a level  of 2.4 billion 
dollars by 2008 compared with 2.2 billion dollars in 2005.  
"Israel has been the largest recipient of U.S. foreign aid every year  since 
1976," Berrigan said.  
Additionally, the United States provides Israel with billions of  dollars 
worth of weaponry.  
She pointed out that recent military sales to Israel include propulsion  
systems for fast patrol boats worth more than 15 million dollars from MTU  Detroit 
Diesel; an eight-million-dollar contract to Lockheed Martin for  high-tech 
infrared "navigation and targeting" capabilities for Israeli  jets; and a 
145-million-dollar deal with Oshkosh Truck Corp to build more  than 900 armour kits 
for Israeli Medium Tactical Vehicles.  
In December of last year, Lockheed Martin was awarded a  29.8-million-dollar 
contract to provide spares part for Israel's F-16  fighter planes.  
Berrigan also said that Israel has one of the world's largest fleets of  F-16 
fighter planes, made in Fort Worth, Texas and also in Israel by  Lockheed 
Martin Corporation.  
Israel has a total of over 378 F-16s, considered one of the world's  most 
advanced fighter planes -- besides 117 F-15s, 94 Skyhawks, 110  Phantoms -- all 
supplied by the United States. 
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: /pipermail/wcusp_wilpf.org/attachments/20060718/280353d2/attachment.html