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Stop U.S.-Israel "Smart"-Bomb Deal
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Progressive Portal
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Sep 22, 2004 16:05 PDT
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$319 MILLION IN U.S. AID WILL PAY FOR ACQUISITION
OF "BUNKER BUSTERS," SMALLER BOMBS USED IN ASSASSINATIONS
[From Citizens for Fair Legislation <3>]
Israel and the United States have reached an agreement under which the
U.S. will provide 5,000 new "smart" bombs to the Mideast state. Although
it has been widely reported that the U.S. will "sell" the weapons, in
fact they are a gift from American taxpayers, who are covering the full
$319-million cost of the transaction.
According to the Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz, which broke the story, the
deal will include 500 one-ton "bunker busters" capable of penetrating
two-meter-thick cement walls; 2,500 "regular" one-ton bombs; 1,000
half-ton bombs; and 500 quarter-ton bombs.
Under the U.S. Arms Export Control Act, Israel is supposed to use such
weapons only for self-defense and not for operations in civilian
territories. In practice, however, Israel has repeatedly dropped one-ton
bombs on residential areas in the occupied territories of Gaza and the
West Bank, killing hundreds of people. In July of 2002, for example,
Israeli forces dropped a one-ton bomb into an apartment building; it
killed not only the Hamas activist the Israelis were trying to
assassinate, but also his wife and 16 other civilians, among them nine
children. The U.S. has never once reprimanded Israel about using
U.S.-provided weapons in violation of the law.
Israel will never enjoy real peace and security until it ensures justice
for the Palestinian people and reaches an accommodation with its other
neighbors. Tell George Bush, Dick Cheney, and your Congressional
representatives that providing ever more deadly weapons to Israel does
nothing to achieve those objectives.
Take Action
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Send a message to Bush, Cheney, and your Senators and Congressperson at:
http://www.cflweb.org/congress_merge_.htm
(choose "Alert 9/22/04 - Arms Donation to Israel Is Illegal" from the
"Choose a Letter" popup menu)
More Information
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More information on the newly disclosed arms deal:
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/objects/pages/PrintArticleEn.jhtml?itemNo=479587
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_PrintFriendly&c=Article&cid=1095804613756
Background on U.S. arms sales to Israeli:
http://www.worldpolicy.org/projects/arms/reports/israel050602.html
http://www.motherjones.com/news/special_reports/arms/israel.html
http://www.caat.org.uk/information/issues/israel-1002.php
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