A political analyst says Secretary of State John Kerry was sending “a signal” when he said automatic budget cuts slated for March 1 would result in possible cuts to U.S. aids to Israel.
Kerry has said that cuts resulting from sequestration would be a huge threat to “national security,” and was quick to play the Israel card in defending his own department’s budget.
According to Kerry, the $2.6 billion cut in the budgets of the U.S. State Department and USAID would mean a few hundred million dollars in cuts in aids to foreign militaries, the largest of which goes to Israel.
“He [Kerry] said
it and of course he didn’t need to say it, there was no reason for him to have
to say this now. He could’ve told them after if it happens and they have to have
these big budget cuts then he could give them the bad news,” Jim W. Dean,
managing editor and columnist at Veterans Today, said in an interview with Press
TV’s U.S. Desk on Saturday.
“I think it is definitely sending a signal,” he added.
Dean also
said the amount of money that Christian-Zionists give Israel far surpasses what
the U.S. government gives them.
Israel receives
about $3 billion from the U.S. in direct foreign assistance each year, which is
roughly one-fifth of America's foreign aid budget.
American Israel
Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) lobbyists guarantee billions of dollars in
military aid for Israel each year.
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