Deflection? Are you not getting the framed conversation that you wanted? Well sanction me!
Egypt get a ton of money every year for two reasons. 1. They signed a peace treaty with Israel. 2. They dumped the Soviet Union as their military supplier and took up arms with the US military-industrial complex.
Egypt and Israel couldn't make peace until the USA bought them off with long term multi-billion dollar payments. Your taxpayer dollars....still at work for you!
There is one striking difference between Israel and Egypt's teat sucking......Egypt hasn't dragged us into any proxy wars. In fact, Egypt hasn't had any wars in a very long time. Although they've managed to avoid war since the 1970s, they did send a couple of divisions of troops to the coalition in the first Gulf War to help liberate Kuwait.
HockeyDad wrote:
Egypt signed the peace treaty because of the shock of seeing Israeli tanks 90 miles outside of Cairo and their air force decimated in less than 6 days after Egypt lined up on the border as part of a planned attack from several fronts against Israel. Sadat got smart and signed on with the best alternative. We sent aid to keep the hateful crazies out of power.
I have stated before (and hope I no longer have to endure you mistating my position and then asking me to defend it) that you and DMV and all of America can be politically and philosophically against aid to any and all countries...not the issue to me. Much of America shares that opinion. That's why we have voting booths. I have not campaigned for spending the dough. I too question the wisdom of spending money we don't have, but we do spend it and you and I disagree on where it should go and why...and the results.
Assuming the money gets sent overseas despite your or my opinion on the wisdom of draining taxpayers, I am of the belief that supporting a real democracy vs supporting dictatorships is a no brainer. Just about every dictatorship we have propped up has fallen and the people now despise us. And then there is Israel.
In this particular thread, I am pointing out that we read ad naseum on these boards about aligning ourselves with and sending aid to Israel. But until this thread, no mention, no whining about virtually the same amount quietly going to Egypt.
Israel did as requested by the Bushes, even holding back while scuds landed in their neighborhoods. Your wording cleverly makes it sound like Egypt was the better friend in the Gulf. Well, Egypt was also a minority partner in 9/11. I do not recall any Israelis on the comandeered planes. Should the inference be that Egypt is/was a terrorist sponoring nation? Just as flimsy as using a couple of divisions to the Gulf as proof of loyalty to US.
So after billions of dollars sent to these two countries, after decades of "investing" in major players of the Middle East, today we (still) have an ally in Israel, an actual democracy with a standard of living we could envy, and despite DMV saying he has received nothing in return, Israel is at the forefront of much that improves the world due to research, technology etc etc etc.
Egypt, in the aftermath of Arab Spring, is quite possibly heading in the other direction. The real more moderate brave leaders of the revolution are out of the power mix after they did the dirty work. And what we have is looking like just another extremist religious country on its way to considering the US the western devil that needs eradication, along with Israel. I say possibly because it is not really an entrenched government yet.
There goes your good money after bad. Outrageous, no? My mind won't be changed, nor will yours. Write to your congressman, we are wasting our respective talents on a cigar forum.
