Occupation 101

Egypt in the middle

Hamas kidnapped Gilad Shalit in 2006. Hamas is now demanding Egypt release prisoners that Hamas claims is innocent. Egypt was in a moderator role in the Shalit talks, now Hamas is demanding a prisoner from them. Not to mention hundreds from Israel as well. Hizbolla's media wing reposted an Al-Jeezera report on Hamas' demands. Egypt's push to bring Hamas and Fatah together is becoming tricky and could fail. I wish the candidates would address this.

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• Israel mass pushiment for Shalit Kidnapped.
  
• Egypt Trying to unite Hamas and Fatah.
  
• Hizbolla re-post of Hamas demands.
  
• France delivers a card to Shalit.
  

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The surge

The Surge is Over??? what? There is still more troops in Iraq then there was before the surge. Its a fact plain and simple. To say it worked is to say its over. Yeah violence is down, but the Surge is still in place. The question "did it work?" can only be answered if its over. General Petraeus said in testimony to the Senate that the surge was "working." He didn't say it worked. Maybe I'm out of my mind, but to say It didn't work or it did work is flat out wrong. Look at this way, I'm putting a new roof on my house to stop rain from leaking in. So I get out on the roof and start working on it. Its sunny out and I'm almost done and I say "It worked my roof doesn't leak." But if it rained later in the day my roof would leak, because I haven't finished the job. It would be silly of me to say I finished repairing roof, if I clearly haven't. That's just what I see when the surge is debated by the Presidential candidates, and its driving me batty because they just aren't being logical. What if Ike Eisenhower said we won the war after we stormed the beaches of Normandy. He'd be laughed at, D-Day worked and it was a turning point, but Hitler would still have been on the loose and Japan would still be going wild in the Pacific. When Iraq has a stable government and does not need US troops to carry out military operations is when you can say its over. When our troops are out of Iraq, is when anyone can say did it worked. If McCain thinks we won then why isn't he committed to pulling out? If we won or it worked, then there's no need to be there! I feel like a crazy, watching people say its a clear "Victory"

Foreign Policy Debate??

McCain and Obama debated Foreign Policy? You didn't here the word Palestine and just one mention of Israel, but only in passing in a quote from Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The debate could have not be clearer the "War" is taking place in the Middle East. Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, and Iran received most of the focus. While Afghanistan and Iraq are at a state of war Israel is receiving vast resources from the United States. But Not a word was said, the silence was deafening.

Foreign military sales Israeli Air Force:

Note: This is not a comprehensive listing of U.S. military sales to Israel.

Year	FMS	DCS	TOTAL
2001	$766,026,000	$4,019,000	$770,045,000
2002	$629,426,000	$1,427,000	$630,853,000
2003	$845,952,000	$16,455,000	$862,407,000
2004	$878,189,000	$418,883,000	$1,297,072,000
2005	$1,652,582,000	$1,110,223,000	$2,762,805,000
2001 - 2005	$4,772,175,000	$1,551,007,000	$6,323,182,000

• FMS - Foreign Military Sales
• DCS - Direct Commercial Sales

Source: "Facts Book: Department of Defense, Security Assistance Agency," September 30, 2005.^[16]

Foreign military financing (to Israel from the United States)

Note: This is not a comprehensive listing of US ESF and military aid to Israel.

Year	FMF	ESF	Supplementals	NADR-ATA	TOTAL
2001	$1,975,644,000	$838,000,000			$2,813,644,000
2002	$2,040,000,000	$720,000,000		$28,000,000	$2,788,000,000
2003	$2,086,350,000	$596,100,000	$1,000,000,000		$3,682,450,000
2004	$2,147,256,000	$477,168,000			$2,624,424,000
2005	$2,202,240,000	$357,120,000	$50,000,000	$210,000	$2,609,570,000
2006 (estimated)	$2,257,200,000	$273,600,000		$526,000	$2,531,326,000
2007 (requested)	$2,340,000,000	$120,000,000		$320,000	$2,460,320,000
Total 2001-2007	$15,048,690,000	$3,381,988,000	$1,050,000,000	$29,056,000	$19,509,734,000

• FMF - Foreign Military Financing (direct military aid)
• ESF - Economic Support Fund (open-ended monetary assistance that can be used to offset military spending and arms purchases, as well as for non-military purposes)
• Supplementals are special one-time grants meant as a complement to already allocated aid
• NADR-ATA - Nonproliferation, Anti-Terrorism, Demining & Related Programs

Source: "Congressional Budget Justification for Foreign Operations," Fiscal Years 2001-2007.^[16]

Benefits to Israel of U.S. Aid Since 1949 (As of November 1, 1997)
Foreign Aid Grants and Loans
$74,157,600,000
Other U.S. Aid (12.2% of Foreign Aid)
$9,047,227,200
Interest to Israel from Advanced Payments
$1,650,000,000
Grand Total
$84,854,827,200
Total Benefits per Israeli
$14,630
Cost to U.S. Taxpayers of U.S.
Aid to Israel
Grand Total
$84,854,827,200
Interest Costs Borne by U.S.
$49,936,680,000
Total Cost to U.S. Taxpayers
$134,791,507,200
Total Taxpayer Cost per Israeli
$23,240

Some other numbers to consider.

These numbers are a couple of years old, military spending is higher now. I don't really think an explanation is necessary, this speaks for itself. One thing to remember is that the Iraq war is not part of the national budget, its mostly paid for by other discretionary expense bills.