Congress wants to tie the United States to Israel with this new legislation
6 hours ago
- #Foreign Lobbying
- #Military-Industrial Complex
- #US-Israel Relations
- Congress is considering embedding Israel's military deeply within the US military-industrial complex via Section 224 of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which commits to bilateral R&D, co-production, joint ventures, and integration of weapons industries.
- Israel's advocates are pushing this to preserve U.S. support amid declining public approval, avoiding public discussion of Israeli policies in Gaza, Lebanon, West Bank, or Iran, and disguising election funding sources to defeat critical candidates.
- Pro-Israel groups like the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (Aipac) lobbied for the U.S.-Israel Futures Act, which evolved into Section 224 of the NDAA, despite the original bills stalling in committees.
- The legislation aims to make the U.S. dependent on Israeli technology in AI, quantum computing, and other advanced fields, while transferring U.S. technologies to Israel, steering the relationship toward harnessing American power for 'Zionism 2.0' goals.
- Ideas behind this are influenced by figures like David Wurmser, who advocate for an 'asymmetric' U.S.-Israel partnership based on preventative wars and a vision of Israel dominating the Middle East as the U.S.'s key ally in defending 'western civilization.'
- Critics, including Representatives Thomas Massie and Ro Khanna, oppose Section 224, viewing it as a trap that binds the U.S. to Israel's interests, rather than a beneficial alliance, and highlighting the role of dark-money groups and think tanks in shaping policy.