Since the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, the United States has allocated $6.5 billion in security aid to Israel, The Washington Post reported late Wednesday night. Notably, almost half of this sum was disbursed in May alone. These previously undisclosed figures came to light during this week’s talks with the visiting Israeli delegation led by Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. The discussions took place against a backdrop of Israeli claims suggesting that the Biden administration has been deliberately delaying assistance.
To address Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s allegation of American-imposed bottlenecks in arms supply, which the White House termed “perplexing” and “inaccurate,” US arms transfer specialists conducted a detailed review with Gallant’s delegation during their four-day visit. An administration official informed the Post that this process involved examining “hundreds of separate items.” This thorough review aimed to refute the Israeli leader’s claims about delays in military assistance.
DM Gallant on Wednesday said there has been “significant progress” in US military shipments to Israel, and stated that “obstacles were removed and bottlenecks were addressed in order to advance a variety of issues, and more specifically the topic of force build-up and munition supply.”
So, there were “bottlenecks,” and the reason they have been removed was Netanyahu’s unabashed video suggesting the US was delaying arms and ammunition shipments to Israel.
Senator Tom Cotton (R-Ark) last Thursday sent a letter to the White House criticizing the Biden administration for withholding weapons and ammunition from Israel as it continues to battle Hamas in Gaza. The Senator requested a complete list of all weapons and ammunition Israel has requested, as well as explanations for the delays.
Sen. Cotton wrote: “Your administration is engaged in bureaucratic sleight-of-hand to withhold this crucial aid to Israel during a shooting war. As you are aware, the Arms Export Control Act requires the administration to notify Congress before sending weapons to a foreign country. Your administration has manipulated this requirement by withholding this formal notification to Congress of approved weapons sales, including F-15s, tactical vehicles, 120-mm mortars, 120-mm tank rounds, joint direct attack munitions, and small-diameter bombs. Your administration can then claim that the weapons are ‘in process’ while never delivering them.”
The administration official told the Post that “In terms of bottlenecks, it is a complicated, bureaucratic system that we have for good reason … making sure we fully fulfill all of our obligations to Congress, laws, procedures and regulations.” The official admitted that “there are issues on the Israeli side, in terms of things they might want, which might not have been totally clear.”
All of which, for some reason, reminded me of Louis Jordan’s 1946 hit song, “Ain’t Nobody Here but Us Chickens,” performed here for your listening pleasures by the Muppets.
