The shift will strip away the political and diplomatic oversight mechanisms that make the relationship publicly accountable, moving it from a visible annual aid vote into the opaque machinery of defense acquisition, where oversight is limited and political accountability is minimal. The result would be a defense relationship that is simultaneously deeper and less transparent.
This all comes at a time when the Israeli military has repeatedly used U.S. weapons in strikes that have violated international humanitarian laws in Gaza, and as Israel has repeatedly violated ceasefires (as has the U.S. itself) in the Trump administration’s unnecessary war with Iran.
The enormous gulf between what most Americans want and what the president is doing when it comes to Israel and what Congress is proposing here should not be ignored. Just 30% of respondents to a New York Times/Sienna poll from mid-May believe Trump made “the right decision” to go to war with Iran, with 64% saying it was wrong. An Institute for Global Affairs poll released earlier this week dove even deeper into the American psyche when it comes to arming Israel, finding that “Just 16 percent say the United States should keep supplying Israel with weapons without new restrictions. Thirty-eight percent want to stop supplying weapons entirely, and another 24 percent want weapons conditioned on how they’re used.”
Yet, mainstream leadership in both parties remains largely pro-Israel and continues to shape the base legislative text before amendments and broader congressional debate open it to the full body, as is the case with this NDAA provision.
Crosspost from https://lemmy.ml/post/48024011
You suffer from the illusion that congress as it currently exists represents humans. Congress represents corporate persons and special interests. There are two categories of corporate persons, a) those with just enough foresight to still be mildly afraid human persons will catch on and do something to overthrow them (Democrats), b) those who don't care what you cattle think, because they have the psychological tools to manipulate you into doing whatever they want (Republicans). At no point is your opinion relevant because neither party actually cares, they'll have their public relations team tell you what you're permitted to care about closer to election day. AIPAC, the special interest group representing the Israeli government funds both, and so extracts favors as they see fit. It's not at all crazy once you recognize the underlying structure. Evil, but not crazy.