Madinat al-Muslimeen Islamic Message Board
Serves all three of them right. |
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AbuSobiya |
12/17/00 at 09:16:35 |
Congress rejects extra aid for Israel By Janine Zacharia WASHINGTON (December 17) - After weeks of delay, a lame-duck Congress adjourned on Friday, approving a $450 billion catch-all spending bill that omitted the Clinton administration's request for $750 million in supplemental aid for the Middle East, including $450m. for Israel. President Bill Clinton had promised the money to Prime Minister Ehud Barak to help pay for costs associated with Israel's May redeployment from south Lebanon and to fund advanced technologies to help Israel counter long-range ballistic threats. The administration also hoped to award Egypt $225m. to help pay for improvements in port security and to give Jordan an additional $75m. in economic and military aid. But congressional leaders including Bill Young (R-FL), chairman of the powerful House Appropriations Committee, and David Obey of Wisconsin, the ranking Democrat on the committee, were adamantly opposed to allocating $750m. in extra foreign aid when legislators were forced to cut the equivalent amount in military and domestic programs. Senator Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-MS), fearing the extra money for Israel would give the impression that Congress was trying to give Barak a pre-election boost, said in a staff meeting that it was inappropriate to award extra money to Israel before voters there go to the polls, according to sources close to Lott. Overall, legislators - whose budgetary work dragged unusually into December over marginal matters, including protection of sea lions off Alaska's coast - did not believe the package was urgent at this time. Congress usually wraps up its budgetary business in October. But legislators signaled their intent to reconsider the package sometime early next year after the new Congress convenes. Republicans were also reluctant to grant Clinton a gift so late in his term and were frustrated that the president had once again obligated the US financially without consulting with them first. One Israeli official in Washington said Israel was disappointed it would not receive the money now and that the extra funds could have helped Barak with his election campaign. "It's part of the inability of this administration to work with this Congress," the official explained. Other proponents of the aid said the administration brought the request too late in the congressional cycle to ensure it would be approved. Both Israel and Egypt were lax in their lobbying of the Hill, something that frustrated the White House, according to congressional sources. But Israeli officials claim the administration asked them to leave the bargaining to the White House. An Egyptian official said Egypt also did not lobby hard because they knew it was "a real long shot." In a statement issued by AIPAC two days before congressional leaders quashed the request, Howard Kohr, president of the pro-Israel lobby, made clear that should Congress fail to pass the measure in its final days, the package will "remain a top priority for AIPAC" when the new Congress convenes in January. |
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Re: Serves all three of them right. |
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Kashif |
12/17/00 at 12:41:53 |
assalaamu alaikum Whether congress votes to give $450 million or $750 million at the moment, is made almost inconsequential due to the large sums of money involved. This is no sort of victory at all. If only the American public new that their tax dollars supplement each Israeli citizen to the tune of $22k each year.. perhaps then we might see some positive action. Kashif Wa Salaam |
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Re: Serves all three of them right. |
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Sara |
12/17/00 at 18:23:00 |
Assalam, I agree with Kashif. I have a bumber sticker that I ordered from 'The Washington Report on Middle East Affairs' that says "The U.S. Goverenment gave israel $6.3 billion dollars this year. Have you paid your share? |
Re: Serves all three of them right. |
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Kashif |
12/17/00 at 19:02:50 |
assalaamu alaikum Subhanallah! Sara that is a wonderful idea.. i think that would be an excellent side-project for some Muslims to get involved in. Everytime you are driving in your car.. 5.. perhaps 10 people would see that message insha'llah. I was just listening to Ramadhan radio after taraweeh, and they had a BBC Journalist in the studio for a talk on the situation on Palestine. Alhumdulillah, he gave a very unbiased account of the situation there, and he had absolutely tonnes of ideas for how British Muslims can get involved in putting pressure on the media to portray the situation correctly and remove bias from their reporting. I hope to find the tie to transcribe some of his main points into writing for this board.. something i'll try to do over the next couple of days insha'llah. Kashif Wa Salaam |
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