Freshman Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) is being criticized by Democrats and Republicans because of his proposal to cut U.S. foreign aid, including aid to Israel, in order to close the deficit. The reality is that Washington should reduce its foreign aid commitments across the board, not just Israel. In FY 2008, the U.S. provided some type of foreign aid to 154 countries. It is inconsistent for conservatives to advocate for limited government at home while aruging for big government and reckless spending abroad. Foreign aid is an important lever of foreign policy but only when that aid is used judiciously and clearly advances the national interest. Right now, Washington gives out taxpayer dollars whimsically and without any consideration of…
Posts Tagged ‘Israel’
Focus Group with Frank Luntz in Old Town Alexandria
I’ve seen Frank Luntz on TV a bunch of times and I’ve always found him to be a pretty interesting guy. He’s definitely passionate about what he does. Last week, I participated in a focus group with Frank at his office in Old Town Alexandria. I was one of about 30 participants who showed up for the 3-hour session. The subject of the evening was Israel. It was a pretty interesting experience. Before we started, they gave us sandwiches from Panera. I had the smoked turkey, which was pretty solid. Then we filled out a pretty lengthy questionnaire, watched a series of informational videos, news clips, and speeches. We got to use those cool dials, or “Perception Analyzers,” Frank uses on TV…
Iranian Official: Iran Could Escort Convoys
You can always count on the regime in Tehran to fan the flames. According to the Guardian, “Iran has warned that it could send Revolutionary Guard naval units to escort humanitarian aid convoys seeking to break the Israeli blockade of Gaza–a move that would certainly be challenged by Israel.” This would obviously add insult to injury and create significant escalation concerns. Unfortunately, it’s not to difficult to imagine a number of potential conflict scenarios in the Middle East where a skirmish quickly devolves into a high-intensity, regional conflict.
Blockade Running is a Dangerous Business
Blockade running is dangerous and can carry with it significant consequences, including death. Ask Rhett Butler or Han Solo, they know. I’ve been reading a lot about the blockade running incident which occurred on Monday. Of course, many of the reports are devoid of any real analysis–or facts, for that matter–and reflexively blame Israel. Leave it to Charles Krauthammer to make sense of it all:
But as Leslie Gelb, former president of the Council on Foreign Relations, writes, the [Israeli] blockade is not just perfectly rational, it is perfectly legal. Gaza under Hamas is a self-declared enemy of Israel — a declaration backed up by more than 4,000 rockets fired at Israeli civilian territory. Yet…