Critics of the US-Israel Special Relationship will often cite how many billions of dollars in aid the US gives the Jewish state each year and how that number dwarfs the amount given to any other country in the world. These critics often miss the fact that the US also gives large amounts of aid to the two neighboring Arab states which have signed peace treaties with Israel. And when these states misbehave–i.e., they do things that Israel doesn’t like–the US threatens to cut that aid. Because Egypt wasn’t doing enough to help Israel choke Gaza, for example, the US government threatened to reduce its aid. Now we have reports that the US is making noises about slashing Jordan’s aid if it does not coordinate its uranium enrichment program with Israel. The image the layman is left with is of a spoiled brat with rich parents who buy him friends.
I am waiting for the day when the US conditions Israel’s foreign aid on its willingness to coordinate its nuclear program, not even with all the surrounding Arab countries, but just with Egypt and Jordan.
