After spending over 2.5 billion dollars in defense aid to Israel in 2009 (that number will rise to $3.15 billion by 2018), the United States’ President will ask Congress for another $200 million to ship overseas in aid of Israel.  Congress will likely agree, as there is simply too much political pressure to support Israel in its fight against Hezbollah and extremism.  Israel apparently needs help funding a project called “Iron Dome” (sounds more like the master-plan of a super-villain in some 1970′s comic book than a strategic missile defense system), a project designed to shoot down rockets fired from south Lebanon or the Gaza Strip.  “Iron Dome” was conceived and developed in Israel following the Lebanon war of 2006, during which Hezbollah launched about 4,000 rockets into northern Israel.  Southern Israel has also come under fire, with thousands of rockets and mortars fired by Palestinian militants.  Israel completed tests on the system in January. Officials say the next phase in its development is its integration into the Israeli army.  After a couple big bumps in the road (some of the biggest in years), the US government seems desperate to prove to Israel and the world its commitment to the nation.  A White House spokesman referred to the “unshakable commitment” to Israel’s security yesterday.  In March Israel approved new homes for Jews in occupied east Jerusalem.  The decision came during a visit to the holy city by Vice-President Joe Biden.  Even Secretary of State Hilary Clinton has had her ups and downs with Israeli leaders in one short year.  The announcement of US funding comes at a time when Israeli and Palestinian leaders were suppose to resume “indirect” peace talks (meaning, they’re not mature enough to speak face to face… basically).

-D

As the Rage Against the Machine intensifies in the United States (basically since Obama took office), about to boil all over the stove-top, the world at large is warming to the United States more so than any other major global player.  The report was released early this morning.  The study polled in 28 countries around the world, nearly 30,000 people total.  It asked “do you find that [insert country] has given a generally positive impact throughout the world?”.  The United States has improved the most since 2008, while even countries like the United Kingdom declined.  The European Union also declined by about 5 percentage points, but still sits atop as very favorable.  Germany was deemed the most positive global player, while Iran and Pakistan were viewed as the most negative global players.  The poll itself should be at least a moderately good thing, but with what’s going on economically in this country, I really don’t think people care.  At all.  In fact, I’m starting to believe that the next time a conservative takes office as president, or perhaps a liberal too, he/she will take a page from 1920′s America and preach isolationism in all its forms.  The problem is that 2012 or 2016 isn’t 1922.  The world has changed.  And like it or not, we need to have a good relationship with other nations for many reasons.  Most obviously national security and economics.  The world is too small to isolate ourselves.  Should we stop policing the world?  Yep.  But we’d be shooting ourselves in the foot by trying to go it alone.  As much as people probably don’t care — I’m looking at you “tea party” — this poll is a good thing (yes, even economically).

-D

It’s the ultimate nightmare, a plot thread out of a Tom Clancy novel or a story arc out of the Fantastic Four: terrorists obtaining and using a nuclear weapon against the World at large.  It’s a scary prospect that seems far-far away in a scary world, but the reality of it is it’s very possible.  All it takes is a little unrest in Eastern Europe, the former Soviet Union (as we’re seeing with the storming of the capitol building in Kyrgyzstan).  Disgruntled immigrants from the South, or even homelanders, become alienated, they see the poverty around them as a product of the West, they get involved with some bad people, boom.  Technically, it’s only Russia that’s supposed to have nukes.  They have a whopping 12,000 floating around, claiming only about half of them are “active” (meaning they could be detonated now).  Even that number holds up as the world’s forerunner of nuclear arms.  But something about it doesn’t feel right.  The Soviet Union’s first nuke test was in 1949 – the RSD-1 — and the nation state expanded their programs well into the 80′s right up until the fall of the Berlin Wall and subsequent breaking of the Union.  It’s simple logic: with all that arms expansion throughout the Empire (it’s a bold faced lie to say all the development took place in Moscow), how could ALL the nukes have been rounded up and brought back to Russia in that couple year stretch.  Even if they were, the threat of terrorism in Moscow is just as large and unpredictable (just look at a story we broke a couple weeks ago, where 2 suicide bombers hit the subway).  One thing Obama should be given credit for is his attempts at nuclear disarmament by ALL countries, including the Cold War powerhouses like Russia and the USA.  The world is dangerous enough already even without these weapons.

-D

Even though Israeli/United States relations have been rocky — extremely rocky — as of late, Secretary of State Hilary Clinton today affirmed the US’ commitment to the nation and it’s interests.  As Joe Biden was visiting the Israel/Palestine region last week in an effort to once again get peace talks rolling, Israel announced it’s plans for a new settlement in East Jerusalem of 16,000 homes for its people.  Then yesterday, Israel’s ambassador to the US — Michael Oren — was quoted by Israeli media saying that ties between the US and Israel were at their lowest point since 1975.  Clinton responded swiftly today: “I don’t buy that”, she told press.  She did admit that the US was “disappointed” with Israel’s actions last week; that term quite a step down from what she said last week, calling the new settlements during proposed peace talks “insulting”.  You might think, what’s the big deal about new homes?  Well, East Jerusalem is ripe for outbursts of religious violence with large amounts of both Palestinians and Israelis living and working there.  Palestinian protesters have been clashing with Israel police since the announcement, and Israel has deployed an extra 3000 officers to the area.  Israel has also rebuilt a synagogue — which had previously been destroyed twice — on ground which many Palestinians see as a future spot for their capitol building.  In the Gaza Strip, thousands of people came out to protest the opening of the synagogue.  Those protests thus far have been relatively peaceful.  Clinton says the US will still try to move forward in moderating peace talks between the Palestinians and Israel, but the settlement and reopening certainly won’t help matters.  We’ll keep you posted.

-D

President Obama’s visit to the far East attracted a lot of attention.  No, not because he’s trying to revitalize our relationship with the Japanese, or get on the good side of our loan-officers (the Chinese government).  The media machine was set ablaze this week when Obama bowed to the Japanese Emperor.  No, not THAT emperor.  On CNN they debated about how low he went as oppose to how low he should have gone (what is this, the limbo??).  On Fox and Friends the red button was pushed: “The American apocalypse is coming!  The president bowed!!!”  But according to Obama and his team it’s a deliberate new approach to American diplomacy and foreign policy.  Their point being that the diplomacy of George W. Bush was so hard-nosed, so borderline jingoistic, that we could never get foreign powers to go along with any of our global strategies (or even get them to agree with us).  So apparently this administration is trying a different approach.  It’s not a bad thing, because Lord knows the “unnecessary hostility” — as John Stewart called it yesterday — got us absolutely nowhere fast.  Course, we’re all waiting for the day when we get a President who’s diplomacy strategy is gracious and respectful, but still strong and uncompromising.  One president’s too hard, one’s too soft; it’s like we’re collectively Goldie Locks, and we’re waiting for the one that’s “just right”.

-D