cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/47506853
The legislation calls for nearly $1.4 trillion in defense spending and would expand Israeli influence over the US Congress and military
Lawmakers in Washington are quietly moving to integrate the US and Israeli militaries in unprecedented ways, according to a clause in the 2027 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) released earlier this week.
Section 224 of the NDAA, entitled “United States–Israel Defense Technology Cooperation Initiative,” proposes bilateral defense research and development, co-production of weapons, joint ventures, licensing agreements, and other US-Israeli military-industrial complex cooperation.
If implemented, the initiative would “arguably do more to intertwine the US military with the Israeli military than the more than $200 billion (inflation adjusted) in military assistance Israel has received from the US since its founding in 1948,” Responsible Statecraft (RS) wrote. It is “the first step towards shifting aid further into the shadows” and “would all but fuse the two countries’ armed forces together,” RS added.
Section 224 of the NDAA calls for expanded US–Israeli coordination in the areas of defense tech, including AI, quantum, autonomous systems, directed energy, cyber, and biotech.
It also proposes “network integration” and “data fusion,” which would allow Israel to access the US military’s data.
If implemented, the measures would give the Israeli government expanded influence over the US political system. “By expanding or starting new co-production facilities like it already has in Mississippi and Arkansas, the Israeli government could boast of providing jobs on US soil, thereby securing allies among members of Congress who represent the districts where those jobs lie,” RS concluded.
Does anyone know why Israel has so much power? They are too small to be a world threat and don’t have the resources to really demand much. It has to be some greaseball back room shit. But what do they have?
Ukraine right now is at the forefront of modern warfare innovation. Despite being small and embattled, larger countries are coming to Ukraine to learn what they are doing with the latest drone tech. For Ukraine, this is a real, everyday, life or death battle and they have been thrust to the cutting edge of what’s possible by this. They are also very smart and making the most of it.
Meanwhile the US is fat and slow and sheltered, invested in the warfare of decades past. So the US has a lot to gain from watching closely what’s going on or even having a formal security partnership with Ukraine to learn first hand.
If the US goes a whole generation without major military conflict, it will literally forget how to do it and lose its edge. It will have no battle hardened commanders and all its tactics will be decades old. I believe this is one reason the US starts so many conflicts. Its whole empire is built on its military might and that sword needs to stay sharp.
What does this have to do with Israel?
Well, I want to avoid direct comparisons between Ukraine and Israel, because one is an innocent nation that’s been brutally invaded and the other is an aggressive religious ethnostate carved out of other people’s lands and maintained through force, brutality and espionage.
But let’s just say that Israel, too, is very active in warfare, counter terrorism, and espionage. Remember their scheme with the exploding pagers? When’s the last time the US pulled off something like that?
The US wants to learn from Israel. Like Ukraine, Israel is full of smart people who are living it every day and pushing the boundaries. You don’t get into top condition without real experience and pressure, exercise. Israel has that in a way the US does not.
This is one factor. There are many others including the wackadoodle religion stuff. But this is one factor I did not see mentioned yet.
There was a former CIA guy or so he claimed that pretty much made the claim the only people they didn’t fuck with in the intelligence community was Mossad. Not because they couldn’t but because mossad will use any means. ANY means to succeed collateral damage be damned and they are hardline on revenge. And they are good at it because they are absolutely ruthlesssly competent.
And I bet they did a LOT of dirty work for the USA to acquire that skillset, amongst other entitties
Imagine for a moment that the purpose of Epstein’s sex trafficking was to get compromising video and other evidence to use for blackmailing powerful leaders and such for Israeli intelligence.
I don’t claim to know for sure that is true, but I feel like a great many things make more sense if it is.
They also sell backdoored software to governments around the world. Think databases and law enforcement software like celebrite. Between that, the blackmail, the bribes often through PACs and the CIA they are effectively China’s only rival for world dominance… Huh that thought didn’t end how I expected
Conspiracy theory. There is definitely something going on and you may be right, but this has been going on for a long time.
I mean, yea, look at who Epsteins mentor was and who Maxwell’s dad was. It has been going on a long time for sure.
They’re America’s unsinkable aircraft carrier next to the gas station
Nah, Israel does JACK SHIT for the US militarily speaking. It’s one way relationship. No bases or Israeli assets have ever been available to the US.
They provided NOTHING during the Gulf War other than being a wedge and diplomatic liability. The US had to send a bunch of assets into the empty Iraqi desert (thus weakening main front) just to hunt SCUDs taking pot shots at Israel.
They are the most ungrateful pieces of shits. And they openly respond with THREATS whenever America shows even the slightest hesitation on giving them anything and everything they want (Not long ago Pollard on was on an Israeli TV show bragging about threatening the US with the same nuclear weapons he helped create!)
And just recently Trump inquired about Israel contributing troops or support (because the US military is a joke now) FOR A WAR THEY ASKED THE US TO START and they said “lol no.” And that dumb pedophile just keeps licking their assholes.
And also being slavish Israeli enablers has had massive detrimental to US relationship with Arab allies (who the real power brokers in the region) and has made itself a target by proxy.
This just scratches the surface of how shitty Israel is to the US.
The attacked the USS Liberty as well, for example.
Israel should be declared persona non grata, and ceremoniously kicked off our fucking welfare the second a Democrat takes office. I’m tired of funding these ungrateful deadbeat, genocidal assholes.
capitalism and zionism.
Zionism shouldn’t fly in the US. The religious power here is Christian affiliated. What are Zionists to us? Capitalism? How is serving Israel’s interests profitable to private capitalists? If a majority of people don’t like them, why publicly support them if it may negatively impact profits?
zionism is not a religion. and war is massively profitable. thats all it needs.
The end times.
Israel has one of the strongest intelligence agencies in the world. Does Pegasus ring a bell? Actually, they may even see what you have typed on your smartphone in Lemmy.
As far everything you post on Lemmy is public. No need for spyware.
They have been involved in bribery of world leaders for decades, they have a PAC that is deeply embedded in US politics, and they have invested heavily in intelligence collection (HUMINT and SIGINT), including gathering and creating compromising information about key individuals.
They can’t have enough money to bribe everybody with access to power everywhere. Shit, not even the United States can do that. But both US political parties serve Israel’s interests. Almost every Western European country backs them. The United States is the wealthiest country in the world with by far the biggest military machine. Yet the US seems to always bend a knee to Israel no matter how unpopular that country may be to American citizens. There are plenty of conspiracy theories, but there is definitely something going on…
They don’t have to buy everyone, but if you look at US elections it is obvious they they spend a lot getting friendly politicians into power. There are others that are likely compromised in other ways. Plus there are religious nut jobs that are working to bring about the prophesied end of the world so they can be fucking raptures. All of that plays into giving Israel outsized influence.
There is also the racial piece though. Israel is framed as the ‘good guys’ that are the West’s defenders against the ‘evil Muslims’. A frustratingly large portion of the world population either doesn’t care, or actively condones wholesale slaughter of brown people.
It’s like $30k to buy a Congressman. It’s surprisingly cheap
Maybe a house representative. A senator? A majority of house reps and senators AND the president? The heads of BOTH political parties? The press? What about the UK? Germany? They don’t have that much money. There is something else going on.
That’s just the cash price to buy outright. An RV here or there, a vocal and well funded PAC, worldwide propaganda and information warfare for decades, and you can get enough people on your side.
But they do have that much money. They have an outsize GDP from their domestic industry, plus huge material support from foreign governments, plus a global support network