ਦੇ ਮੱਦੇਨਜ਼ਰ ਇਸਰਾਏਲ ਦੇ‘s massive assault on heavily populated civilian areas of the Gaza Strip earlier this year, Amnesty International called for the ਸੰਯੁਕਤ ਪ੍ਰਾਂਤ to suspend military aid to ਇਸਰਾਏਲ ਦੇ on human rights grounds. Amnesty has also called for the United Nations to impose a mandatory arms embargo on both Hamas and the Israeli government. Unfortunately, it appears that President Barack Obama won’t be heeding Amnesty’s call.
During the fighting in January, Amnesty documented Israeli forces engaging in "direct attacks on civilians and civilian objects in ਗਾਜ਼ਾ, and attacks which were disproportionate or indiscriminate." The leader of Amnesty International’s fact-finding mission to the Gaza Strip and southern ਇਸਰਾਏਲ ਦੇ ਨੋਟ ਕੀਤਾ how "Israeli forces used white phosphorus and other weapons supplied by the ਅਮਰੀਕਾ to carry out serious violations of international humanitarian law, including war crimes." Amnesty also reported finding fragments of U.S.-made munitions "littering school playgrounds, in hospitals and in people’s homes."
ਮੈਲਕਮ ਸਮਾਰਟ, ਜੋ ਮਿਡਲ ਈਸਟ ਲਈ ਐਮਨੈਸਟੀ ਇੰਟਰਨੈਸ਼ਨਲ ਦੇ ਡਾਇਰੈਕਟਰ ਵਜੋਂ ਕੰਮ ਕਰਦਾ ਹੈ, ਦੇਖਿਆ ਗਿਆ in a press release that "to a large extent, ਇਸਰਾਏਲ ਦੇ‘s military offensive in ਗਾਜ਼ਾ was carried out with weapons, munitions and military equipment supplied by the ਅਮਰੀਕਾ and paid for with ਅਮਰੀਕਾ ' taxpayers’ money." The release also noted how before the conflict, which raged for three weeks from late December into January, the ਸੰਯੁਕਤ ਪ੍ਰਾਂਤ had "been aware of the pattern of repeated misuse of [its] weapons."
Amnesty has similarly condemned Hamas rocket attacks into civilian-populated areas of southern ਇਸਰਾਏਲ ਦੇ as war crimes. And while acknowledging that aid to Hamas was substantially smaller, far less sophisticated, and far less lethal — and appeared to have been procured through clandestine sources — Amnesty called on Iran and other countries to take concrete steps to insure that weapons and weapon components not get into the hands of Palestinian militias.
During the fighting in early January, the Nobel Peace Prize-winning organization initially called for a suspension of ਅਮਰੀਕਾ ' military aid until there was no longer a substantial risk of additional human rights violations. The Bush administration summarily rejected this proposal. Amnesty subsequently appealed to the Obama administration. "As the major supplier of weapons to ਇਸਰਾਏਲ ਦੇ, ਅਮਰੀਕਾ has a particular obligation to stop any supply that contributes to gross violations of the laws of war and of human rights," said Malcolm Smart. "The Obama administration should immediately suspend ਅਮਰੀਕਾ ' ਨੂੰ ਫੌਜੀ ਸਹਾਇਤਾ ਇਸਰਾਏਲ ਦੇ."
Obama’s refusal to accept Amnesty’s call for the suspension of military assistance was a blow to human rights activists. The most Obama might do to express his displeasure toward controversial Israeli policies like the expansion of illegal settlements in the occupied territories would be to reject a planned increase in military aid for the next fiscal year and slightly reduce economic aid and/or loan guarantees. However, in a notable departure from previous administrations, Obama made no mention of any military aid to ਇਸਰਾਏਲ ਦੇ ਉਸਦੇ ਵਿੱਚ ਰੂਪਰੇਖਾ of the FY 2010 budget, announced last week. This notable absence may indicate that pressure from human rights activists and others concerned about massive ਅਮਰੀਕਾ ' ਨੂੰ ਫੌਜੀ ਸਹਾਇਤਾ ਇਸਰਾਏਲ ਦੇ is now strong enough that the White House feels a need to downplay the assistance rather than emphasize it.
ਓਬਾਮਾ ਸੱਜੇ ਝੁਕਦਾ ਹੈ
Currently, Obama is on record supporting sending up to $30 billion in unconditional military aid to ਇਸਰਾਏਲ ਦੇ over the next 10 years. Such a total would represent a 25% increase in the already large-scale arms shipments to Israeli forces under the Bush administration.
Obama has thus far failed to realize that the problem in the Middle East is that there are too many deadly weapons in the region, not too few. Instead of simply wanting ਇਸਰਾਏਲ ਦੇ to have an adequate deterrent against potential military threats, Obama insists the ਸੰਯੁਕਤ ਪ੍ਰਾਂਤ should guarantee that ਇਸਰਾਏਲ ਦੇ maintain a qualitative military advantage. Thanks to this overwhelming advantage over its neighbors, Israeli forces were able to launch devastating wars against ਇਸਰਾਏਲ ਦੇ‘s Palestinian and Lebanese neighbors in recent years.
If ਇਸਰਾਏਲ ਦੇ were in a strategically vulnerable situation, Obama’s hard-line position might be understandable. But ਇਸਰਾਏਲ ਦੇ already has vastly superior conventional military capabilities relative to any combination of armed forces in the region, not to mention a nuclear deterrent.
However, Obama has failed to even acknowledge ਇਸਰਾਏਲ ਦੇ‘s nuclear arsenal of at least 200-300 weapons, which has been documented for decades. When Hearst reporter Helen Thomas asked at his first press conference if he could name any Middle Eastern countries that possess nuclear weapons, he didn’t even try to answer the question. Presumably, Obama knows ਇਸਰਾਏਲ ਦੇ has these weapons and is located in the ਮਿਡਲ ਈਸਟ. However, acknowledging ਇਸਰਾਏਲ ਦੇ‘s arsenal could complicate his planned arms transfers since it would place ਇਸਰਾਏਲ ਦੇ in violation of the 1976 ਸਿਮਿੰਗਟਨ ਸੋਧ, which restricts ਅਮਰੀਕਾ ' military support for governments which develop nuclear weapons.
Another major obstacle to Amnesty’s calls for suspending military assistance is Congress. Republican leaders like Representatives John Boehner (OH) and Eric Cantor (VA) have long rejected calls by human rights groups to link ਅਮਰੀਕਾ ' military aid to adherence to internationally recognized human rights standards. But so have such Democratic leaders, such as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, who are outspoken supporters of unconditional military aid to ਇਸਰਾਏਲ ਦੇ. Even progressive Democratic Representative Barney Frank (MA), at a press conference on February 24 pushing his proposal to reduce military spending by 25%, ਬਰਖਾਸਤ ਕੀਤਾ a question regarding conditioning ਇਸਰਾਏਲ ਦੇ‘s military aid package to human rights concerns.
ਦਰਅਸਲ, ਆਪਣੇ ਮਿਲਟਰੀਵਾਦੀ ਏਜੰਡੇ ਦਾ ਸਮਰਥਨ ਕਰਨ ਅਤੇ ਗੈਰ-ਫੌਜੀ ਟੀਚਿਆਂ ਦੇ ਵਿਰੁੱਧ ਯੋਜਨਾਬੱਧ ਇਜ਼ਰਾਈਲੀ ਹਮਲਿਆਂ ਦਾ ਦਸਤਾਵੇਜ਼ੀਕਰਨ ਕਰਨ ਵਾਲੇ ਨਾਮਵਰ ਮਨੁੱਖੀ ਅਧਿਕਾਰ ਸਮੂਹਾਂ ਨੂੰ ਬਦਨਾਮ ਕਰਨ ਦੇ ਪ੍ਰਤੱਖ ਯਤਨ ਵਿੱਚ, ਇਹ ਕਾਂਗ੍ਰੇਸ਼ਨਲ ਨੇਤਾਵਾਂ ਅਤੇ ਉਨ੍ਹਾਂ ਦੇ ਸਹਿਯੋਗੀਆਂ ਦੀ ਇੱਕ ਬਹੁਤ ਜ਼ਿਆਦਾ ਦੋ-ਪੱਖੀ ਬਹੁਗਿਣਤੀ ਰਿਕਾਰਡ 'ਤੇ ਚਲੇ ਗਏ ਹਨ। ਸ਼ਲਾਘਾ ਕਰਨੀ "Israel’s longstanding commitment to minimizing civilian loss and…efforts to prevent civilian casualties." Although Obama remained silent while ਇਸਰਾਏਲ ਦੇ was engaged in war crimes against the civilian population of ਗਾਜ਼ਾ, Pelosi and other congressional leaders ਚਲੇ ਗਏ ਨੂੰ ਇਸਰਾਏਲ ਦੇ‘s defense in the face of international condemnation.
ਨਾਗਰਿਕਾਂ 'ਤੇ ਇਜ਼ਰਾਈਲੀ ਹਮਲਿਆਂ ਤੋਂ ਓਬਾਮਾ ਦੀ ਰੱਖਿਆ
ਇਜ਼ਰਾਈਲੀ ਹਥਿਆਰਬੰਦ ਬਲਾਂ ਅਤੇ ਹਿਜ਼ਬੁੱਲਾ ਮਿਲੀਸ਼ੀਆ ਵਿਚਕਾਰ 2006 ਦੇ ਸੰਘਰਸ਼ ਤੋਂ ਬਾਅਦ, ਜਿਸ ਵਿੱਚ ਦੋਵਾਂ ਧਿਰਾਂ ਨੇ ਆਬਾਦੀ ਵਾਲੇ ਨਾਗਰਿਕ ਖੇਤਰਾਂ ਦੇ ਵਿਰੁੱਧ ਹਮਲਿਆਂ ਵਿੱਚ ਸ਼ਾਮਲ ਹੋ ਕੇ ਜੰਗੀ ਅਪਰਾਧ ਕੀਤੇ, ਤਤਕਾਲੀ ਸੈਨੇਟਰ ਓਬਾਮਾ ਨੇ ਇਜ਼ਰਾਈਲ ਦੀਆਂ ਕਾਰਵਾਈਆਂ ਦਾ ਬਚਾਅ ਕੀਤਾ ਅਤੇ ਹਿਜ਼ਬੁੱਲਾ ਦੀ ਆਲੋਚਨਾ ਕੀਤੀ, ਭਾਵੇਂ ਇਜ਼ਰਾਈਲ ਅਸਲ ਵਿੱਚ ਬਹੁਤ ਜ਼ਿਆਦਾ ਨਾਗਰਿਕਾਂ ਲਈ ਜ਼ਿੰਮੇਵਾਰ ਸੀ। ਮੌਤਾਂ. ਨਾਗਰਿਕ ਆਬਾਦੀ ਕੇਂਦਰਾਂ 'ਤੇ ਇਜ਼ਰਾਈਲੀ ਬੰਬਾਰੀ ਨੂੰ ਜਾਇਜ਼ ਠਹਿਰਾਉਣ ਦੀ ਸਪੱਸ਼ਟ ਕੋਸ਼ਿਸ਼ ਵਿੱਚ, ਓਬਾਮਾ ਨੇ ਦਾਅਵਾ ਕੀਤਾ ਹਿਜ਼ਬੁੱਲਾ ਨੇ "ਬੇਕਸੂਰ ਲੋਕਾਂ ਨੂੰ ਢਾਲ ਵਜੋਂ ਵਰਤਿਆ ਸੀ।"
This charge directly challenged a series of reports from Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch. These reports found that while Hezbollah did have some military equipment close to some civilian areas, the Lebanese Islamist militia had not forced civilians to remain in or around military targets in order to deter ਇਸਰਾਏਲ ਦੇ from attacking those targets. I sent Obama spokesperson Ben LaBolt a copy of an exhaustive 249-page ਹਿਊਮਨ ਰਾਈਟਸ ਵਾਚ ਦੀ ਰਿਪੋਰਟ ਜਿਸ ਵਿੱਚ ਮਨੁੱਖੀ ਢਾਲ ਦੀ ਵਰਤੋਂ ਕਰਦੇ ਹੋਏ ਹਿਜ਼ਬੁੱਲਾ ਦੇ - ਜਾਂਚ ਕੀਤੇ ਗਏ 600 ਨਾਗਰਿਕ ਮੌਤਾਂ ਵਿੱਚੋਂ ਇੱਕ ਵੀ ਕੇਸ ਨਹੀਂ ਮਿਲਿਆ। ਮੈਂ ਉਸਨੂੰ ਪੁੱਛਿਆ ਕਿ ਕੀ ਓਬਾਮਾ ਕੋਲ ਇਹਨਾਂ ਖੋਜਾਂ ਦਾ ਵਿਰੋਧ ਕਰਨ ਵਾਲੇ ਕੋਈ ਅਨੁਭਵੀ ਸਬੂਤ ਹਨ।
ਜਵਾਬ ਵਿੱਚ, ਲਾਬੋਲਟ ਨੇ ਮੈਨੂੰ ਇਜ਼ਰਾਈਲੀ ਖੁਫੀਆ ਸੇਵਾ ਦੇ ਸਾਬਕਾ ਮੁਖੀ ਦੀ ਅਗਵਾਈ ਵਾਲੀ ਇਜ਼ਰਾਈਲੀ ਸਰਕਾਰ ਨਾਲ ਨੇੜਲੇ ਸਬੰਧਾਂ ਵਾਲੇ ਇੱਕ ਸੱਜੇ-ਪੱਖੀ ਇਜ਼ਰਾਈਲੀ ਥਿੰਕ ਟੈਂਕ ਦੀ ਇੱਕ ਛੋਟੀ ਰਿਪੋਰਟ ਦੀ ਇੱਕ ਕਾਪੀ ਪ੍ਰਦਾਨ ਕੀਤੀ। ਐਮਨੈਸਟੀ ਇੰਟਰਨੈਸ਼ਨਲ ਅਤੇ ਹਿਊਮਨ ਰਾਈਟਸ ਵਾਚ ਦੀਆਂ ਰਿਪੋਰਟਾਂ ਦੇ ਉਲਟ, ਰਿਪੋਰਟ ਵਿਸ਼ੇਸ਼ ਤੌਰ 'ਤੇ ਇਜ਼ਰਾਈਲੀ ਸਰਕਾਰੀ ਸਰੋਤਾਂ ਦੀ ਵਰਤੋਂ ਕਰਦੀ ਦਿਖਾਈ ਦਿੱਤੀ, ਜੋ ਕਿ ਫੋਰੈਂਸਿਕ ਸਬੂਤਾਂ ਦੇ ਨਾਲ-ਨਾਲ ਹਮਲੇ ਅਧੀਨ ਖੇਤਰਾਂ ਵਿੱਚ ਰਹਿ ਰਹੇ ਲੇਬਨਾਨੀਆਂ ਦੇ ਨਾਲ-ਨਾਲ ਤਜਰਬੇਕਾਰ ਮਾਨੀਟਰਾਂ ਦੁਆਰਾ ਕਈ ਪ੍ਰਮਾਣਿਤ ਚਸ਼ਮਦੀਦ ਗਵਾਹਾਂ ਦੇ ਖਾਤਿਆਂ 'ਤੇ ਅਧਾਰਤ ਸਨ। ਜ਼ਮੀਨ 'ਤੇ ਕਿਸੇ ਸਰਕਾਰ ਜਾਂ ਰਾਜਨੀਤਿਕ ਸੰਗਠਨ ਨਾਲ ਗੈਰ-ਸੰਬੰਧਿਤ)। ਵਧੇਰੇ ਭਰੋਸੇਯੋਗ ਸਰੋਤਾਂ ਦੀ ਮੰਗ ਕਰਨ ਵਾਲੀਆਂ ਕਈ ਫਾਲੋ-ਅਪ ਈਮੇਲਾਂ ਦੇ ਬਾਵਜੂਦ, ਲਾਬੋਲਟ ਕਦੇ ਵੀ ਮੇਰੇ ਕੋਲ ਵਾਪਸ ਨਹੀਂ ਆਇਆ।
Not Good for ਇਸਰਾਏਲ ਦੇ
The militaristic stance by Congress and the Obama administration is hardly doing ਇਸਰਾਏਲ ਦੇ a favor. Indeed, ਅਮਰੀਕਾ ' military assistance to ਇਸਰਾਏਲ ਦੇ ਨਾਲ ਕੋਈ ਲੈਣਾ-ਦੇਣਾ ਨਹੀਂ ਹੈ ਇਸਰਾਏਲ ਦੇ‘s legitimate security needs. Rather than commencing during the country’s first 20 years of existence, when Israel was most vulnerable strategically, major U.S. military and economic aid didn’t even begin until after the 1967 War, when Israel proved itself to be far stronger than any combination of Arab armies and after Israeli occupation forces became the rulers of a large Palestinian population.
ਜੇ ਸਭ ਅਮਰੀਕਾ ' ਨੂੰ ਸਹਾਇਤਾ ਇਸਰਾਏਲ ਦੇ were immediately halted, ਇਸਰਾਏਲ ਦੇ wouldn’t be under a significantly greater military threat than it is today for many years. ਇਸਰਾਏਲ ਦੇ has both a major domestic arms industry and an existing military force far more capable and powerful than any conceivable combination of opposing forces.
Under Obama, U.S. military aid to Israel will likely continue be higher than it was back in the 1970s, when Egypt’s massive and well-equipped armed forces threatened war, Syria’s military rapidly expanded with advanced Soviet weaponry, armed factions of the PLO launched terrorist attacks into Israel, Jordan still claimed the West Bank and stationed large numbers of troops along its border and demarcation line with Israel, and Iraq embarked on a vast program of militarization. Why does the Obama administration believe that ਇਸਰਾਏਲ ਦੇ needs more military aid today than it did back then? Since that time, ਇਸਰਾਏਲ ਦੇ has maintained a longstanding peace treaty with ਮਿਸਰ and a large demilitarized and internationally monitored buffer zone. ਸੀਰੀਆ‘s armed forces were weakened by the collapse of their former Soviet patron and its government has been calling for a resumption of peace talks. The PLO is cooperating closely with Israeli security. ਜਾਰਡਨ signed a peace treaty with ਇਸਰਾਏਲ ਦੇ with full normalized relations. And two major wars and a decade of strict international sanctions have devastated ਇਰਾਕ‘s armed forces, which is in any case now under close ਅਮਰੀਕਾ ' ਨਿਗਰਾਨੀ.
Obama has pledged continued military aid to ਇਸਰਾਏਲ ਦੇ a full decade into the future not in terms of how that country’s strategic situation may evolve, but in terms of a fixed-dollar amount. If his real interest were to provide adequate support for Israeli defense, he wouldn’t promise $30 billion in additional military aid. He would simply pledge to maintain adequate military assistance to maintain ਇਸਰਾਏਲ ਦੇ‘s security needs, which would presumably decline if the peace process moves forward. However, ਇਸਰਾਏਲ ਦੇ‘s actual defense needs don’t appear to be the issue.
According to late Israeli major general and Knesset member Matti Peled, — who once served as the IDF’s chief procurement officer, such fixed amounts are arrived at "out of thin air." In addition, every major arms transfer to ਇਸਰਾਏਲ ਦੇ creates a new demand by Arab states — most of which can pay hard currency through petrodollars — for additional ਅਮਰੀਕਾ ' weapons to challenge ਇਸਰਾਏਲ ਦੇ. ਅਸਲ ਵਿਚ, ਇਸਰਾਏਲ ਦੇ announced its acceptance of a proposed Middle Eastern arms freeze in 1991, but the ਅਮਰੀਕਾ ' government, eager to defend the profits of ਅਮਰੀਕਾ ' arms merchants, effectively blocked it. Prior to the breakdown in the peace process in 2001, 78 senators wrote President Bill Clinton insisting that the United States send additional military aid to Israel on the grounds of massive arms procurement by Arab states, neglecting to note that 80% of those arms transfers were of U.S. origin. Were they really concerned about Israeli security, they would have voted to block these arms transfers to the Gulf monarchies and other Arab dictatorships.
The resulting arms race has been a bonanza for ਅਮਰੀਕਾ ' arms manufacturers. The right-wing "pro-Israel" political action committees certainly wield substantial clout with their contributions to congressional candidates supportive of large-scale military and economic aid to ਇਸਰਾਏਲ ਦੇ. But the Aerospace Industry Association and other influential military interests that promote massive arms transfers to the ਮਿਡਲ ਈਸਟ and elsewhere are even more influential, contributing several times what the "pro-Israel" PACs contribute.
The huge amount of ਅਮਰੀਕਾ ' aid to the Israeli government hasn’t been as beneficial to ਇਸਰਾਏਲ ਦੇ as many would suspect. ਅਮਰੀਕਾ ' ਨੂੰ ਫੌਜੀ ਸਹਾਇਤਾ ਇਸਰਾਏਲ ਦੇ is, in fact, simply a credit line to American arms manufacturers, and actually ends up costing ਇਸਰਾਏਲ ਦੇ two to three times that amount in operator training, staffing, maintenance, and other related costs. The overall impact is to increase Israeli military dependency on the ਸੰਯੁਕਤ ਪ੍ਰਾਂਤ — and amass record profits for ਅਮਰੀਕਾ ' arms merchants.
The U.S. Arms Export Control Act requires a cutoff of military aid to recipient countries if they’re found to be using American weapons for purposes other than internal security or legitimate self-defense and/or their use could "increase the possibility of an outbreak or escalation of conflict." This might explain Obama’s refusal to acknowledge ਇਸਰਾਏਲ ਦੇ‘s disproportionate use of force and high number of civilian casualties.
ਆਪਣੇ ਹਲਕੇ ਨਾਲ ਧੋਖਾ ਕੀਤਾ
ਇਜ਼ਰਾਈਲੀ ਮਿਲਟਰੀਵਾਦ ਨੂੰ ਸਮਰਥਨ ਦੇਣ ਲਈ $30 ਬਿਲੀਅਨ ਟੈਕਸਦਾਤਾ ਫੰਡ ਇਰਾਕ ਯੁੱਧ, ਵੱਡੇ ਬੈਂਕਾਂ ਲਈ ਬੇਲਆਉਟ, ਅਤੇ ਵੱਖ-ਵੱਖ ਪੈਂਟਾਗਨ ਬੂਡੌਗਲਸ ਵਿੱਚ ਪਹਿਲਾਂ ਹੀ ਬਰਬਾਦ ਕੀਤੇ ਗਏ ਪੈਸੇ ਦੀ ਤੁਲਨਾ ਵਿੱਚ ਕੋਈ ਵੱਡੀ ਰਕਮ ਨਹੀਂ ਹੈ। ਫਿਰ ਵੀ, ਇਹ ਪੈਸਾ ਘਰ ਦੀਆਂ ਲੋੜਾਂ, ਜਿਵੇਂ ਕਿ ਸਿਹਤ ਸੰਭਾਲ, ਸਿੱਖਿਆ, ਰਿਹਾਇਸ਼ ਅਤੇ ਜਨਤਕ ਆਵਾਜਾਈ ਲਈ ਵਧੇਰੇ ਲਾਭਕਾਰੀ ਢੰਗ ਨਾਲ ਜਾ ਸਕਦਾ ਹੈ।
It’s therefore profoundly disappointing that there has been so little public opposition to Obama’s dismissal of Amnesty International’s calls to suspend aid to ਇਸਰਾਏਲ ਦੇ. Some activists I contacted appear to have fallen into a fatalistic view that the "Zionist lobby" is too powerful to challenge and that Obama is nothing but a helpless pawn of powerful Jewish interests. Not only does this simplistic perspective border on anti-Semitism, it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. Any right-wing militaristic lobby will appear all-powerful if there isn’t a concerted effort from the left to challenge it.
Obama’s supporters must demand that he live up to his promise to change the mindset in ਵਾਸ਼ਿੰਗਟਨ that has contributed to such death and destruction in the ਮਿਡਲ ਈਸਟ. The new administration must heed calls by Amnesty International and other human rights groups to condition military aid to ਇਸਰਾਏਲ ਦੇ and all other countries that don’t adhere to basic principles of international humanitarian law.
ਸਟੀਫਨ ਜ਼ੁਨੇਸ, ਏ ਫੋਕਸ ਵਿਚ ਵਿਦੇਸ਼ੀ ਨੀਤੀ senior analyst, is a professor of politics and chair of Middle Eastern Studies at the ਯੂਨੀਵਰਸਿਟੀ of ਸੇਨ ਫ੍ਰਾਂਸਿਸਕੋ.
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