Re: California Burns & Bush is To Blame

Bush has 87 Billion for Iraq, $2.2 billion for Israel in Military
Assistance.

But zero cash for Americans whose homes have been destroyed
by fire, even after Gov. Davis wrote to the Bush Admin.
and asked for tree cutting money and was turned down.

But Bush has plenty of sympathy and empathy for Californians,
just he's all tapped out.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=356894&contrassID=1&su
bContrassID=1&sbSubContrassID=0&listSrc=Y

U.S. to ask Congress to give Israel $2.22
billion in military assistance

The United States will ask Congress to give
Israel $2.22 billion in military assistance in
the fiscal year 2005, $60 million more than in
2004, the U.S. State Department said in a
statement on Monday.

The increase is in line with a 1990s agreement
which reduces economic assistance to Israel by
$120 million a year while adding $60 million a
year to the military component of the package,
the largest Washington gives to any country.

The statement, issued after talks in Israel last
Wednesday and Thursday between senior U.S. and
Israeli officials, said the Bush administration
was committed to enhancing Israel's security
and "maintaining Israel's qualitative edge over
any combination of adversaries".

It said the United States would continue to seek
funding for future U.S. participation in
selected joint research and development
projects with Israel.

U.S. economic support to Israel stood at $600
million in 2002 but under the agreement, which
dates back to the Clinton administration, it
will disappear by 2008.

Apart from the annual military and economic
assistance, the United States is also
guaranteeing international loans by Israel up
to an amount of $9 billion over three years.

The $9 billion is liable to deductions
equivalent to the Israeli government's spending
on settlements in the Palestinian territories
but the United States has given Israel
clearance to start borrowing before deciding
how much it will deduct.



Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz and IDF chief Moshe Ya'alon looking at aerial
photographs during a visit to the settlement of Netzarim in the Gaza Strip
last week. (AP)





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