Section 219 of the National Defence Authorisation bill, would merge the Israeli military into the US military. An amendment to prevent this was not even allowed a vote in the House of Representatives. This would be formal acknowledgement of the fusion between the two governments that has become increasingly obvious, but is at odds with the opinion of a majority of the American people. When Netanyahu has visited the US, he typically receives multiple standing ovations, despite the stream of televised war crimes his government has ordered. Any criticism of these actions is met with cries of anti-semitism, and such criticism is actually becoming illegal. Israel is the one country not allowed to be challenged over its behaviour, at a time when robust denunciation is highly appropriate. Meanwhile the American public is increasingly horrified by Israel’s actions. So are the populations of other western countries, althought their governments, like the US, are still in thrall to Israel despite its barbarism. Perhaps besides having bribed many western government officials the Israelis may also have kompromat on at least some of them, as this is known to have been one of their strategies, conducted by Jeffrey Epstein.
Israel currently receives billions in monetary aid, plus billions more in weaponry. Life on a kibbutz is subsidied by American taxpayers, so is Israeli free healthcare, and IDF soldiers receive the same benefits as American veterans. American citizens would love to have access to the benefits their own government showers on Israeli citizens. Israel has been an outpost the the Anglo-American empire since its inception, but this bill is the first attempt to merge the outpost formally into the centre of empire. Israel would then have access to far more funding, and intelligence, all with no oversight at all, despite the fact that Israeli and American priorities do not necessarily align. Take for instance the case of Jonathan Pollard, who stole nuclear secrets for Israel and also sold them to America’s adversaries. His is the worst case of damaging espionage in US history. He was jailed, but pardoned by Trump and allowed to return to Israel, where he was warmly welcomed by America’s zionist ambassador to Israel and is now running for a seat in the Knesset.
The bill as proposed is unconstitutional, not that the current American regime cares at all about either the law or the constitution. It would bind the imperial centre ever more tightly to its rabid attack dog in the Middle East, rightly associating the US with the litany of Israeli war crimes in the minds of the rest of the world. The empire has dropped the mask it’s worn for so long, and no longer pretends to care about niceties such as democracy or human rights. Now it indulges in naked power and resource grabs, even as its power wains internationally. The rest of the world has grown very tired of American bullying and extortion, and of the weaponisation of the reserve currency and of the international financial architecture. Alternative financial arrangements are being developed, along with alternative trade routes. Empires in decline never go quietly. It’s entirely possible that either the US or Israel, when out of other options, will eventually resort to using nuclear weapons. The rest of us can only hope that sanity will prevail.
