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U.S. planning to ship arms to Israel

by mtippett | January 10, 2009 at 08:35 pm

370 views | 36 Recommendations | 12 comments

It is rare that you see this kind of detail in the reportage of wartime activities but Reuters has the story.

LONDON (Reuters) - The U.S. is seeking to hire a merchant ship to deliver hundreds of tons of arms to Israel from Greece later this month, tender documents seen by Reuters show.
The U.S. Navy's Military Sealift Command (MSC) said the ship was to carry 325 standard 20-foot containers of what is listed as "ammunition" on two separate journeys from the Greek port of Astakos to the Israeli port of Ashdod in mid-to-late January.

A "hazardous material" designation on the manifest mentions explosive substances and detonators, but no other details were given.

"Shipping 3,000-odd tons of ammunition in one go is a lot," one broker said, on condition of anonymity.

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Art_By_Alida

at 21:07 on January 10th, 2009

Israel has long been a buyer of arms from the United States. This is not good news. It would be interesting to know more about international arms sales.

Heritage

at 21:39 on January 10th, 2009

Does Israel really need more weapons to destroy Gaza?

Israel's arsenal includes:

...about 1000 main battle tanks, 1500 lower quality tanks, over 1000 artillery pieces, over 500 warplanes, about 200 helicopters, 13 warships, and 3 submarines. It has the latest unmanned aerial vehicles and can gather very precise intelligence using aerial photography and satellites.

Nuclear Weapons:

Combining these variables with the highest suggested power output of the reactor -- 200 MWt -- would suggest a total stockpile of between 250 and 500 weapons by the end of 2005. And combining these variables with the suggested power level of 150MWt would yield a total stockpile of between 200 and 375 weapons by the end of 2005.

Manpower:

Israel's active military is estimated to be some 170,000. With universal conscription, it has some 2.4 million people between 17-49 years old fit for military service and everyone has had some training.

Money:

Its military budget is 9% of its substantial GDP, totaling some $18.7 billion. It receives about $3 billion per year from the US.

By comparison, Hamas:

has the capacity to improvise rockets and explosives and to train fighters with small arms.

Hamas’s military wing is believed to have more than one thousand active members and thousands of supporters and sympathizers.

Paschen

at 22:06 on January 10th, 2009

Obama or Bush it seems to be no real Change just the illusion of such.

The US won't change nor will Israel unless forced to by the International community. Sanction against Israel won't help either unless the sanction are given to both Israel and the US.

aelusive

at 22:23 on January 10th, 2009

I think Israel is our ally. So we send arms. Once the terrorist enemy in Gaza stops firing rockets into Israel there wont be a need for additional arms. Right?

dimaks

at 09:04 on January 11th, 2009

while Israel has been making too huge collateral damage by including innocent Palestianian civilians that includes, young men, women/old women and children..as well as non-Palestinian press people. this is not a new idea of mine but oh well.. this alliance thing has gone way too far from being manageable.

Mr. Upper Darby (not verified)

at 22:57 on January 10th, 2009

It's about time. we need to arm the Israelis and send troops too. They are willing to end terrorism once and for all and we should support them now while that task can be accomplished. I'm actually shocked anyone would protest the US helping Israel in this day and age. get your head out of your azzes because the ones Israel is after started this by sending rockets into their homes while they slept at night like a common coward terrorist would. I hope Israel marches all the way to Iran and wipes out all the terrorists just as the US should have already done.