From Christian: "I thought you might be interested in this:
"Israel is seeking a surge in future US Foreign Military Financing (FMF) grants not only to support its growing security requirements, but to offset the impact of increasingly advanced US arms sales to other counries in the volatile region.
In interviews here, US and Israeli officials said initial work toward a new 10-year military aid package, which would extend through 2027, is focusing on a full spectrum of Israeli concerns, including military modernization needs, new threats from regional instability and the erosion of Israel’s so-called qualitative military edge (QME) due to US arms sales in the Mideast.
[...]
Oren mentioned “very large [US] contracts to the Middle East” that “raise the question of armies having capabilities similar to our own and how we make sure we can maintain our QME.”
Nevertheless, the Israeli envoy said Israel is not raising objections to such sales.
Latest available data from the US Congressional Research Service lists $91.9 billion in new US arms agreements to the Near East from 2008 through 2011.
Such agreements, according to CRS, include new and upgraded F-15 fighters to Saudi Arabia; dozens of Apache gunships and UH-60M Black Hawks to Saudi Arabia; Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system firing units and CH-47F Chinook helicopters to the United Arab Emirates; F-16 fighters to Egypt, Iraq and Oman; and co-production of M1A1 main battle tanks to Egypt.
“We understand that if America doesn’t sell these weapons, others will,” Oren said. “We also understand the fact that each of these sales contributes to hundreds or thousands of American jobs. And we have an interest in a strong and vital American economy.”
In addition to Israel’s military modernization buys and the need to offset US sales to regional adversaries, Oren said, the future FMF accord should also take into account the Iranian-funded buildup of Hezbollah and Hamas rocket and missile arsenals beyond Israel’s northern and southern borders. The future aid package also should accommodate the nearly $2 billion that Israel has been forced to spend in fortifying its borders with Egypt, Lebanon and Syria, he said.""
"Israel is seeking a surge in future US Foreign Military Financing (FMF) grants not only to support its growing security requirements, but to offset the impact of increasingly advanced US arms sales to other counries in the volatile region.
In interviews here, US and Israeli officials said initial work toward a new 10-year military aid package, which would extend through 2027, is focusing on a full spectrum of Israeli concerns, including military modernization needs, new threats from regional instability and the erosion of Israel’s so-called qualitative military edge (QME) due to US arms sales in the Mideast.
[...]
Oren mentioned “very large [US] contracts to the Middle East” that “raise the question of armies having capabilities similar to our own and how we make sure we can maintain our QME.”
Nevertheless, the Israeli envoy said Israel is not raising objections to such sales.
Latest available data from the US Congressional Research Service lists $91.9 billion in new US arms agreements to the Near East from 2008 through 2011.
Such agreements, according to CRS, include new and upgraded F-15 fighters to Saudi Arabia; dozens of Apache gunships and UH-60M Black Hawks to Saudi Arabia; Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system firing units and CH-47F Chinook helicopters to the United Arab Emirates; F-16 fighters to Egypt, Iraq and Oman; and co-production of M1A1 main battle tanks to Egypt.
“We understand that if America doesn’t sell these weapons, others will,” Oren said. “We also understand the fact that each of these sales contributes to hundreds or thousands of American jobs. And we have an interest in a strong and vital American economy.”
In addition to Israel’s military modernization buys and the need to offset US sales to regional adversaries, Oren said, the future FMF accord should also take into account the Iranian-funded buildup of Hezbollah and Hamas rocket and missile arsenals beyond Israel’s northern and southern borders. The future aid package also should accommodate the nearly $2 billion that Israel has been forced to spend in fortifying its borders with Egypt, Lebanon and Syria, he said.""
