- American officials are reviewing a proposal to end all
civilian aid to Israel immediately, in the context of a general review
of America's foreign aid priorities, according to a senior Western
diplomat.
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- However, the Bush administration has not yet formulated
its stance on this question, the diplomat said.
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- The diplomat explained that America's foreign aid policy
will have to change following the September 11 terrorist attacks in New
York and Washington, and one possibility is phasing out civilian aid to
Israel sooner than planned.
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- However, he added, the increase in military aid to Israel
that was slated to accompany the reduction in civilian aid would not be
affected.
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- Under a deal reached with the U.S. government three years
ago, civilian aid to Israel - then $1.2 billion a year - was to decline
by $120 million a year for 10 years, until it was eliminated
completely.
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- Over the same period, military aid would increase by
$60 million a year, rising from $1.8 billion to $2.4 billion at the end
of the 10-year period. Thus this year, Israel is slated to receive $840
million in civilian aid and $1.980 billion in military aid.
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- The diplomat noted that there is little logic in
continuing
civilian aid to Israel, whose economic indicators are in better shape than
those of some European countries. Thus this might be an attractive target
for the U.S. treasury if, for instance, it needed funding to set up refugee
camps in Afghanistan or to support a new goernment there should the Taleban
be overthrown, he said.
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- The diplomat also noted that America is now examining
the possibility of bringing certain countries currently outside its orbit
into its anti-terror coalition. For instance, if Iran agreed to stop
supporting
Hezbollah and Islamic Jihad and to stop hosting terror organizations in
Tehran, he said, it would be invited to join - particularly since its
promixity
to Afghanistan gives it geopolitical importance.
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- The diplomat said he did not think Iraq would be attacked
at this stage, noting that the U.S. has not yet found any evidence linking
Baghdad to the September 11 attacks. However, he said, "[Iraq's] turn
will come during the stage of examining its role in supporting terrorist
organizations."
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- The U.S. is taking into account the possibility that
Osama bin Laden's organization might attack energy sources in the Persian
Gulf - particularly oil wells in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait - in retaliation
for an American strike, especially if America refuels its airplanes in
Saudi Arabia, the diplomat said. He added that the presence of the American
fleet in the gulf is meant to deter such an attack.
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- Israel's role in the anti-terror coalition, he said,
will be limited to intelligence-sharing and strategic planning. There will
also be other coalition partners who will not take place in any actual
fighting, he said.
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- In addition, he said, the U.S. attaches great importance
to advancing the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, which is why it has
been pressing for a meeting between Foreign Minister Shimon Peres and
Palestinian
Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat. The administration's first goal is to
improve the atmosphere in the region, he explained, and a Peres-Arafat
meeting could be a first step toward that goal.
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- Israel also has an interest in such progress, he said,
since it would neutralize the claim that the Israeli-Palestinian dispute
is fueling international terror: the world would then see that
international
terror was continuing even though the dispute was on a track toward
resolution.
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