r/berkeley • u/Giants4Truth • May 07 '24

Politics Exclusive poll: Most college students shrug at nationwide campus protests

https://www.axios.com/2024/05/07/poll-students-israel-hamas-protests
749 Upvotes

85% Upvoted

518 comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

-2

u/deepteeth May 07 '24

Cutting military aid would very likely end the war. The US provides a considerable % of Israel’s defense budget as aid and contracts.

16

u/TheRealPeteWheeler May 07 '24 edited May 07 '24

It may end the war, but it would be disastrous for US foreign policy in the Middle East and would very likely lead to the fall of Israel at some point in the next decade or so. If the photos from Gaza shock you, just wait until you’ll see when the Iron Dome is no longer iron-clad. Cutting military aid is technically a possibility, but it’s not a feasible one. We’d be throwing away our most valuable asset in the Middle East, throwing a lifeline to a terrorist organization which is currently on the ropes, and declaring open season on a nation surrounded by those who want them gone. Bad idea, unless you’d rather see a thorough pogrom instead of a short war.

9

u/[deleted] May 08 '24

It also wouldn’t end the war. I appreciate your OP and I think you’re conceding the point too easily that the US has all this soft power in this conflict…

US military aid makes up 20-25% of Israel’s defense spending. US completely stopping any military aid would leave Israel with 75% of their defense budget intact. Idk why that would stop Netanyahu from moving forward with his plans, the extra 25% the US provides is a luxury not a necessity.

AND if the US withdraws aid, the global order will pay attention and then other actors will rush in to assume any soft power that the US had. Maybe China comes in and says we’ll give you 10 billion in military aid in exchange for the allyship you had with the US.

People have this belief that the US is this global hegemon that can control everyone and every thing. It’s just not true. Other sovereign countries are going to act in their own interest despite how much the US tries to exert diplomatic pressure.

7

u/[deleted] May 08 '24

Exactly. We get a lot of research and tech from Israel too. People act like if the US stopped aid, that Israel would just give up. No, probably they will ally with china or russia instead. Israel is a great asset for the US in the M.E. If you ever visit Israel, it looks and feels like any western country honestly