19 Sep 14. The Senate late Thursday unanimously passed bipartisan legislation establishing Israel as a “major strategic partner” of the United States, establishing a basis for expanded cooperation across areas as diverse as security, energy, and trade. The bill had been authored by Sens. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Roy Blunt (R-MO) and had gained 81 co-sponsors before it went to the floor. The House had already passed parallel legislation in March, and the pro-Israel lobby AIPAC called on Congress “to move quickly to reconcile the two versions of the legislation and send it to the President for his signature.” Broad aspects of the bill will see Israel’s trade status upgraded and new mechanisms created to facilitate technological cooperation in corporate and academic contexts. The Times of Israel specifically focused on aspects of the legislation that will – per the outlet’s description – increase “the frequency and detail of US government reporting on Israel’s qualitative military edge” and “expand the authority for forward-deployed US weapons stockpiles in Israel.” The value of those stockpiles, which the Israelis have tapped into during their recent wars with Hamas, will now be increased by $200 million to a total of $1.8 billion. The Times of Israel also picked out provisions of the bill requiring the president to “study the feasibility of expanding US-Israel cooperation on cyber security.” A recently leaked top-secret memo detailed previously unknown dimensions of US-Israeli intelligence cooperation, revealing that Washington and Jerusalem coordinate on cyber issues to an unprecedented degree. There are also provisions in the legislation to broaden energy cooperation, just a few weeks after the Houston Chronicle reported on broad efforts being made to establish links between Israel and Texas-based energy companies on issues ranging from regulatory advice to resource co-production. The vote itself came less than a month after a bipartisan Congressional delegation visited Israel to among other things push back against swirling reports of strain between Washington and Jerusalem. American support for Israel and sympathy for Israel remain near all time highs, and Congressional legislation expressing Washington’s backing for the Jewish state routinely cruises through the Senate without dissent. Scholar and journalist Walter Russell Mead, the James Clarke Chace Professor of Foreign Affairs and Humanities at Bard College, has described public American support for Israel as “one of the most potent political forces in U.S. foreign policy.” (Source: theisraelproject.org)
18 Sep 14. Ukrainian President Requests Lethal Military Aid from US. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko called on the US to help Kiev modernize its ill-equipped army with lethal and non-lethal weapons during a visit to the US capital on Thursday. The US has only provided the Ukrainian military, which has been fighting Russian soldiers and Moscow-backed separatists in Eastern Ukraine for several months, with non-lethal aid and equipment. The army needs “more political support through the world,” Poroshenko said during a Thursday address to a joint session of Congress. “They need more military equipment, both lethal and nonlethal,” he said. The US has sent only nonlethal supplies to Ukraine, including medical supplies, helmets, sleeping mats, water-purification units, small power generators and hand fuel pumps. For months, US officials have said they are reviewing additional requests from the Ukrainian government, to include vehicles and reconnaissance equipment. “Blankets, night vision goggles are also important, but one cannot win the war with blankets,” Poroshenko said. “Even more, we cannot keep the peace with a blanket.” Ukraine needs to build up its army in the coming years, the Ukrainian president said. “I see it in my utmost duty to rectify the damage done to the Ukrainian military and to give Ukraine a strong modern army that we can be proud of,” he said. Po