The 10 year temporary aid package

The increase in U.S. military aid for Israel can justifiably be regarded as a failure rather than an achievement. After all, 10 years ago Jerusalem announced it would gradually eliminate its reliance on aid. But the new aid package, which was formalized yesterday in Jerusalem, proves Israel cannot be weaned from the American teat.

The new aid package, albeit intended for military purposes, is as big as the United States' previous aid program: $30 billion over 10 years, from 2008 through 2017 (though it is all military aid this time). And Israel had little choice but to ask for extra funding, because the U.S. gave defense packages to Arab countries in the Persian Gulf. Israel, wishing to retain military supremacy, cannot allow itself to fall behind. Helpless in the face of the Iranian weapons drive, U.S. President George W. Bush's administration has little choice but to arm Gulf allies to their teeth in a bid to hedge Tehran's efforts.

Israel had sought more generous terms for the current hike in defense aid from Washington, which will increase to $3.1 billion a year by 2012. The army's failures in the Second Lebanon War prompted the government to pursue immediate solutions for bolstering military power and readiness. Israel's insistence on better terms resulted in a delay of several weeks before the memorandum on the deal was finally signed. The bright side is that the $3.1 Billion will serve as a higher starting point for future negotiations on funding after 2017.

Meanwhile, sympathy for Israel is just about the only issue on which the Democrats and the Republicans can agree. Congress, under Democratic control, is as sympathetic as the Republican administration. Ben-Gurion International Airport has welcomed 10 percent of the U.S. House of Representatives over the past few weeks. They came here, it is said, to learn more about the difficulties facing Israel.

This support is reflected in the American expense account for Israel. The current defense package does require that Israel use most of the funds to buy weapons from U.S. military industry, but Congress will probably continue to line Israel's pockets with additional benefits. In the past few weeks, Congress has promoted further funding for the Arrow missile-interception system and for counterterrorist activity. The Israel-friendly Congress tends to be particularly generous when it comes to the administration's requests for funding for Israel. And if that's not enough, Israel itself sometimes submits its own requests to the Americans.

In past years, Israel has extracted promises for extra funding for the pullout from southern Lebanon in 2000 and then for the Gaza pullout in 2005. However, promises were not kept in those particular cases, and the money never changed hands. But in the rapidly changing Middle East, circumstances might dictate additional hikes sooner than either party expects.