Rand Paul's "Stand With Israel Act" Ensures No "Standing O" From Libertarians
Rand Paul's growing ties with the Neocons has been documented on this site numerous times, including his most recent endorsement of Neocon Senator Susan Collins just last week. His advocacy for pro-Israel policy has also been documented here - and considering today's news, served as a bit of foreshadowing for his recent legislation. Rand has finally gone on the official record as an Israel advocate and Neocon honk, putting forth the "Stand With Israel Act of 2014" (Bill S.2265).The act (available here) has all the bells and whistles one could want in a piece of Neocon legislation. Anti-terrorist rhetoric, sanctions, withdraw of economic aid (which I have no problem with, as I don't think we should be giving any foreign nation aid) and blind loyalty to an ally that receives billions of dollars each year from the U.S. government (Israel receives the most U.S. aid of any country), while rooting the U.S. government in the middle of an ongoing (undeclared) war.
“Today, I introduced legislation to make all future aid to the Palestinian government conditional upon the new unity government putting itself on the record recognizing the right of Israel to exist as a Jewish state and agreeing to a lasting peace."
Sec. 2: “Prohibition on Foreign Assistance."
(a) In General. Except as provided under subsection (b) and notwithstanding any other provision of law, no amounts may be obligated or expended to provide any direct United States assistance, loan guarantee, or debt relief to the Palestinian Authority, or any affiliated governing entity or leadership organization.(b) Exception. The prohibition under subsection (a) shall have no effect for a fiscal year if the President certifies to Congress during that fiscal year that the Palestinian Authority has --(1) Formally recognized the right of Israel to exist as a Jewish state;(2) Publicly recognized the state of Israel;(3) Renounced terrorism;(4) Purged all individuals with terrorist ties from security services;(4) Terminated funding of anti-American and anti-Israel incitement;(5) Publicly pledged to not engage in war with Israel; and(6) Honored previous diplomatic agreements.”
This bill is aggravating on many levels. Not only is it naive but it is misguided. The U.S. shouldn't be practicing this aggressive meddling in the relations of other nations, but even if it was conceptually acceptable, Israel is under no real threat from Palestine, and Israel is the aggressor in inciting the majority of violent clashes. It was recently announced that a record-breaking 14,000 new settlements in the disputed West Bank/Gaza Strip region had begun construction, all during negotiations with Palestine. When there is an "attack" by Palestinian forces, it's typically 2-3 rocket grenades, which may kill or injure a few, and even that is rare. The response from Israel is to use their vastly superior military might to raze blocks in the region. Palestinian deaths number six times those of Israelis since 2000. Previously, Israel destroyed a pending peace deal when they assassinated a Hamas leader during peace talks. Clearly they do not need help or billions of our taxpayer dollars to assist with building settlements and inciting more blowback against the United States.Insofar as leading up to this, let's revisit Rand's quotes after a trip overseas to Israel with "Evangelical Kingmaker" David Lane, who could be a key to raising support for GOP primaries.
Absolutely we stand with Israel. What I think we should do is announce to the world — and I think it is pretty well known — that any attack on Israel will be treated as an attack on the United States.
And back in October of last year, Rand preached peace through militarism, specifically calling for the U.S. to utilize any option necessary to protect Israel against the paper tiger that is Iran:
Likewise, Iran — or any nation developing nuclear weaponry — should not doubt the military strength and unified approach of the American people toward the terrorizing of U.S. citizens and allies in Asia, Africa, Europe, and the Middle East. Nor should these nations doubt that international resolve will coalesce and extract harsh penalties on nations that pursue these activities. Ultimately, the United States cannot and will not take any option off the table in order to protect Israel and other regional democracies, and to deter Tehran from acquiring a nuclear weapon.
Rand Paul hasn't just gone down the GOP Rabbit Hole, he's become Bugs Bunny. At least Bugs' signature phrase will still apply when he has a solemn sit down with his father: What's up, Doc?Receive access to ALL of our EXCLUSIVE bonus audio content – including “Conspiracy Corner”, “Degenerate Gamblers” and the “League of Liberty Podcast” by joining the Lions of Liberty Pride and supporting us on Patreon!
