Israeli
Firster
Lindsey Graham To Netanyahu Over Defense Deal - Tell
Obama Administration ‘To Go F*** Themselves’
By Deborah
Danan
September 14,
2016 "Information
Clearing House"
- "Breitbart"
-TEL
AVIV – Israel and the U.S. are reported to have
reached an agreement on a landmark defense aid
package to the tune of $3.3 billion, but the White
House is reluctant to sign the deal due to
opposition from Senator Lindsey Graham, who claims
to have told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to
“Tell the administration to go F themselves.”
The
Memorandum of Understanding, which has taken more
than a year to formulate, would increase the 10-year
deal from $3.1 billion to $3.3 billion, beginning in
2018.
However, The
Washington Post reported that Graham was
advancing a deal for $3.4 billion.
“I’m
offended that the administration would try to take
over the appropriations process. If they don’t like
what I’m doing, they can veto the bill,” Graham
said. “We can’t have the executive branch dictating
what the legislative branch will do for a decade
based on an agreement we are not a party to.”
In a phone
conversation with Netanyahu following the spat, the
latter said he was willing to sign the deal but that
it was being held up due to Graham’s opposition.
“The
Israeli prime minister told me the administration is
refusing to sign the MoU until I agree to change my
appropriation markup back to $3.1 billion,” Graham
said. “I said, ‘Tell the administration to
go F themselves.’”
The MoU
includes a stipulation that Israel will not seek
additional funding from Congress. According to
Israel’s Channel 2, Netanyahu
agreed to this, effectively siding with the
White House over Graham.
U.S
Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro
said the deal would be “the U.S.’s biggest aid
package to any other country in history.”
“In keeping
with America’s commitment to preserve Israel’s
qualitative military advantage, by the end of this
year the Israeli Air Force will take delivery of the
first F-35 Joint Strike Fighter,” Shapiro said.
“This is
the latest manifestation in a long history of
Americans helping Israel defend itself with
cutting-edge airborne platforms.”
Israel is
hoping the aid package will allow it to maintain a
military edge – especially in light of the fact that
Iran is awash with cash now that sanctions have been
lifted as part of the U.S.-led nuclear deal.
Graham and
other senators were put out by not being part of the
nuclear deal, and according to the Post,
Republicans are now doubly aggravated by some of the
aid deal’s provisions, including phasing out the
purchase of weapons from local contractors in
Israel.
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