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Israeli is more than capable of bombing Gaza into the stone age even absent US military aid. That's not true at all. Israel's military machine is far more sel
by aguaviva 2y ago
Israeli is more than capable of bombing Gaza into the stone age even absent US military aid.
That's not true at all.
Israel's military machine is far more self-sufficient than it was 20+ years ago. But over time, its capabilities would be significantly hobbled without U.S.-supplied parts and munitions. Don't forget those two aircraft carriers parked offshore, either.
Losing access to U.S. military aid, weapons sales, and strategic backing would definitely hurt. Given that it has now chosen to expand the war to 3 fronts, it really doesn't want to put itself in that box.
- ethbr1 2y agoThe Israelis have always been realistic about the fact that their access to US arms might be cut off. Hence why they (alone?) negotiated integration rights for their F-35s with domestic systems and munitions. The greatest loss to Israel if the US were to withdraw aid would be in air defense -- specifically the US leaning on its allies in the region (Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt) to quietly use airspace and basing to defend Israel from missile barrages. At this point, it seems like Netanyahu doesn't much care what happens in the future, as long as his short-term political survival continues. We'll see if the hostage death protests change anything, since the Israeli public seems like the only entity that can prompt policy change.