Should the U.S. Go to War for Israel?

Statement
on H.R.4133 – United States-Israel Enhanced Security Cooperation
Act of 2012, May 9, 2012

Mr. Speaker:
I rise in opposition to HR 4133, the United States-Israel Enhanced
Security Cooperation Act, which unfortunately is another piece of
one-sided and counter-productive foreign policy legislation. This
bill's real intent seems to be more saber-rattling against Iran
and Syria, and it undermines US diplomatic efforts by making clear
that the US is not an honest broker seeking peace for the Middle
East.

The bill calls
for the United States to significantly increase our provision of
sophisticated weaponry to Israel, and states that it is to be US
policy to "help Israel preserve its qualitative military edge"
in the region.

While I absolutely
believe that Israel – and any other nation –
should be free to determine for itself what is necessary for its
national security, I do not believe that those decisions should
be underwritten by US taxpayers and backed up by the US military.

This bill states
that it is the policy of the United States to "reaffirm the
enduring commitment of the United States to the security of the
State of Israel as a Jewish state." However, according to our
Constitution the policy of the United States government should be
to protect the security of the United States, not to guarantee the
religious, ethnic, or cultural composition of a foreign country.
In fact, our own Constitution prohibits the establishment of any
particular religion in the US.

More
than 20 years after the reason for NATO's existence – the Warsaw
Pact – has disappeared, this legislation seeks to find a new
mission for that anachronistic alliance: the defense of Israel.
Calling for "an expanded role for Israel within the North Atlantic
Treaty Organization (NATO), including an enhanced presence at NATO
headquarters and exercises," it reads like a dream for interventionists
and the military industrial complex. As I have said many times,
NATO should be disbanded not expanded.

This bill will
not help the United States, it will not help Israel, and it will
not help the Middle East. It will implicitly authorize much more
US interventionism in the region at a time when we cannot afford
the foreign commitments we already have. It more likely will lead
to war against Syria, Iran, or both. I urge my colleagues to vote
against this bill.