Israel, U.S. finalize F-35 stealth fighter purchase who's paying for it ?

What do you make of this.

The purchase of U.S.-made F-35 stealth fighters ushers in a new era in Israel's ability to face security challenges, both near and far, a top Israeli security official said at a ceremony Thursday which finalized Israel's purchase of its first batch of advanced fighter jets.
Under the contract signed in New York on Thursday by Ehud Shani, director general of the Israeli Ministry of Defense, Israel will get 20 of the warplanes for nearly $3 billion and will receive the jets in 2016. It has an option for 75 more.

But its this bit at the bottom of the article that's strange.

The Israel Air Force, however, will have to make do with considerably fewer planes than the 75 originally sought. The entire deal will be funded by American military.

So they are buying stealth fighters but America is paying for them.
Linkwww.haaretz.com...

The article is a strange read it gives the impression that israel is paying for them until you see the bit at the bottom am i just misunderstanding it.

If true i would be angry but i am not American if i got it wrong i am sorry just let me know and i will ask for the thread to be closed.

Thankyou

reply to post by mars1



This kind of stuff just annoys me ahhh
Im not even American, why should you sell something and also pay for it, its stupid
Israel and its dog

-Naeem

reply to post by naeem11111


Did you read it this is so strange it reads as if they are paying for it until the bottom paragraph that's why i was a bit confused that i was reading it in the wrong context or something.

Thankyou

Found some more on this its confusing to me.

Defense Ministry Director- General Udi Shani said that one of the considerations in approving the deal was an American offer of $4 billion in offset, meaning that it will purchase $4b. worth of military supplies from Israeli defense industries. Shani said he hoped Israel would eventually receive $5 billion in offset deals from the US.

Linkwww.jpost.com...

I hope some one how understands this sort of thing steps in to give there opinion this is looking like a ultimatum we buy that if you buy this

Somebody help me out here please

Thankyou

I thought i was reading it wrong but no its on the front page of the truth seeker.

Israel, U.S. Confirm Three Billion Dollar Fighter Deal And guess who is funding the deal? More ...

That was on the front page.
And this is from there article.

Israeli daily Haaretz reports, that "the entire deal will be funded by the American military.”

But what they link to i linked in OP.
link www.thetruthseeker.co.uk...

Thankyou

Lol, same ol same ol,

The US lends or donates Israel the money...usually the latter...so that Israel can then buy??? US weapons.

Israel is the 51st state in all but outright declaration.

The reason for not declaring Israel as the 51st state is political expediency.

Without the US, Israel would've died decades ago.

Originally posted by Cosmic4life

Without the US, Israel would've died decades ago.

I disagree, they would have simply swung into Russia's favour. That's been prepped and ready if need be. Israel was far closer to the USSR than most American's realize.

And below is what the US gets for its money btw...

Pollard was to steal classified documents relating to the US Nuclear Deterrent relative to the USSR and send them to Israel. According to sources in the US State Department, Israel then turned around and traded those stolen nuclear secrets to the USSR in exchange for increased emigration quotas from the USSR to Israel. Other information that found its way from the US to Israel to the USSR resulted in the loss of American agents operating inside the USSR.

This should end the suggestion that Israel’s spies are harmless. They are not. The United States’ nuclear deterrent cost an estimated five trillion taxpayer dollars during the 50s and 60s to build and maintain, and less than $100,000 for Pollard to undermine. Israel waited 13 years to admit Pollard had been spying for them, and now lobbies for his release, having granted him Israeli citizenship.

Israeli Spying

Dont get hung op on 'offset'. Thats standard in big international defence procurement. It just means in turn for the sale the manufacturer will select Israel vendors so the politicians can claim its good for local jobs.

The scandal is the aid package that allows the purchase in the first place. The USA gives a huge amount of money to Israel which it must buy a high % of american weapons with (so really, its an extension of the already gigantic US defence spend).

Isnt giving taxpayer money to people on the condition they must buy US weapons with it a straight government subsidy? Thought that was against the WTO SCM agreement :-)

In any event it allows Israel a military strength out of proportion to its true size and economic strength. Meaning they will never have to compromise with their neighbours, keeping it boiling away nicely. Good for business. Chaos equals cash.

I guess Israel has been getting about 2.5 billion dollars in US aid per year for the last few years:

www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org...

US Aid peaked in the year 2000 according to that source.

Maybe the US has some kind of security interest in helping Israel to continue to exist? If Israel had a weak military I don't know if it's unthinkable it could get invaded by Arabs, like perhaps Iran? I don't really trust Ahmadinejad, since he denied the holocaust, and for other reasons.

reply to post by Arbitrageur


Bordering Israel is Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Egypt. None of those will be doing any sneak invasions unnoticed by the USA.

Iran is no direct threat to Israel right now but they may be in 10-20 years. A look at a map of the middle east will show that Iran cant be invading Israel unless it first fights its way through Iraq. Its not going to happen. Iran will make big with the rhetoric and support Hezbollah by proxy (because they are Shia), but thats it. The long Iranian game to be played is to buy political influence in Iraq through the Shia majority. The previously silent 65% majority there that the Iraq invasion gave a voice to. Iran believes we've gifted them regional supremacy in the long run and they may be right. They only have to wait. A majority Shia controlled Iraq aligned to Shia Iran may be the thing that George Bush is ultimately remembered for. This is why the Saudis are arming like mad. They know their old firewall against the Shia Islamic revolution (Iraq) cant be relied on into the future.

The long term future looks grim.

reply to post by Arbitrageur


The strange thing is i could only find Jewish links to this no US they don't want Americans knowing were there cash is going
Unless there is US links but i did not find any at the time.

Thankyou

I think the US public would be far more concerned about the 10 times larger sum which goes to Islamic nations which not only cause Israel to require advanced aircraft and defence technology, but which have a history of actively targeting the US and American citizens.

The total sum in 2004 to these other nations came to $22.4bn with the US development aid reaching $2.6bn

To put this sum in proportion, the cancelled A-12 Avenger II bomber cost $1.35bn with no airframes delivered, plus $1.45bn interest. Which adjusted for inflation is $4.35bn,

(Tarnoff, Curt; Nowels, Larry (2004), Congressional Research Service, fpc.state.gov...)

Bearing in mind the proviso for this agreement is that Israel cannot purchase other nations aircraft, thus ensuring a monopoly of US aircraft secured for testing by some of the best trained pilots in the world.

Remember it was Israeli pilots who scored the first shoot downs in both the F-15 and F-16. The combat experience more than pays for the aircraft.

Jensy

Offsets are nothing new, and the amount in aid/offset/whatever is fairly small by comparison to the U.S. total revenue and budget.

The thing that I find kind of shocking is the startlingly -few- aircraft Israel will be receiving. The only thing worse than a penguin serving in your air force is too few aircraft (penguin or not) to cover your sorties.