One of Congress's most pro-Israel Republicans wants to end direct military aid to Israel. The real question is whether the money disappears—or simply moves somewhere the public can't easily follow.
How did we cut so much spending with DOGE but no changes in support to Israel. Other countries should never be on a retainer off of American tax payers
To shut help to Ukraine 🇺🇦, in order to help a murderous dictator Putin says it all to me. We should have never went to war for Israel. Is it not obvious Israel has much influence with men in our government? A joint military with Israel? This is absolutely wrong by Congress.
Israeli military has benefited US in innumerable ways: testing vast weapons technology; partnering in developing many technologies; sharing weapons technology developed in Israel. To imply that US doesn't get enormous benefits is misinformed at best. And Israel is not the only country to receive support from US, not only in military, but social support. Many countries receive support without benefiting US as nearly as much.
The USA will never dig out of the debt incurred fighting Israels unnecessary wars in Iraq, Iran, against ISIS, all created by their endless greed for more land and cruelty to their neighbors. I’m done with any support for them as long as they continue to support BIBI and his genocidal right wing radicals.
It’s also true that the more informed you become on this issue the more you will realize that the all-in cost to garner the benefits you describe is by now something akin to spending $50 to make $1, plus reputational damage. Israel is a lot of things to certain Americans, but one thing it’s not is a good business decision. If it so clearly were it would not require a deceptive hard-sell lobby to maintain status quo, there would just be an organic incentive to maintain it.
For many, many reasons I am decidedly on one side of this issue but I also thought that this interview its companion piece were extraordinarily fair, which I value more from someone with Ms. Palmeri’s job description than merely having my own views validated. I would take issue with just one thing, and that is the use of the term ‘antisemitism’ over ‘anti-Zionism’. Not interchangeable, unless one actually believes that the majority of this country, the majority of the populations of the majority of nations on earth, a pretty fair number of Jews are antisemitic.
“Congress should exercise far greater oversight over emerging surveillance technologies and U.S.-Israeli technology cooperation, arguing that democratic allies should not be exempt from scrutiny simply because they are allies. He called it a “fusion” of the two militaries that prevents oversight.”
Great analysis, that said, Ro Khanna is right—a fusion of our two militaries is taking place. It also gives cover for the US to develop secret weapons with unlimited black budgets outside of Congressional oversight.
Furthermore, in case no one’s noticed, we are moving military assets away from some of the gulf states and have been relying on Israeli air bases in the Middle East.
Israeli defense authorities and their US counterparts are currently exploring a proposal to establish several permanent US military bases on Israeli territory, relocating selected American assets from across the Middle East into a more centralized posture — under early-stage consideration as of late March 2026. —Army Recognition.com
And if this deal is consummated, especially if some of the other proposals are implemented—it won’t matter who’s in charge (dems or republicans)—once we are there and integration is complete or close, it will be a very expensive and time consuming proposition to leave. IMHO…:)
When dealing with our current administration and Israel you absolutely need to read the fine print. Don’t trust any of them. We need to pull support financially in aid and militarily. It’s time for Israel to stand alone. Learn what it is to be a good partner, a good neighbor, a good Democratic state and a country that stands for human rights. At the moment they are not that so we shouldn’t be supporting them.
Of course this maneuver will NOT eliminate aid to Israel. Like many of the other maneuvers this regime makes (see $$$ to insurrectionists, etc) to cloud the publics view, an agreement tween U.S. military and Israel will camouflage the billions going to that welfare nation.
Since Republicans say the US is a Christian Nation, we should definitely pull all support from Israel. Let God protect or punish Israel just as He did in the Old Testament. This is not being antisemitic. We can still love and respect Judaism as we as Hinduism, etc., but not give military support to any nation than commits genocide
Genocide is a non-thinking label. There is no genocide committed by Israel. They're fighting a defensive war with a low civilian casualty ratio. Don't throw critical thinking out the window.
More doublespeak from our politicians. Of course we are not going to quit funding Isreal and all the grafting going on...and Isreal would never not accept billions of $$$ to steal from! Great reporting!
They are in the NDAA joining each other, in all ways and it will not be suject to
Congressional oversight or to the People objection. They will become so immersed and inmeshed as to be inseparable.
Derived from the "U.S.-Israel FUTURES Act", this proposal establishes the United States-Israel Defense Technology Cooperation Initiative. It is tracked under the following specific legislative markers:
House Version: Section 219 (originally introduced as Section 224).
Senate Version: Section 1217.
Policy analysts, human rights organizations, and dissenting lawmakers have raised major concerns about how these specific sections isolate military cooperation from democratic oversight and public accountability.
1. How the Initiative Sidesteps Congressional Oversight.
Critics point out that the initiative alters the structural nature of how the U.S. supports the Israeli military, shifting it away from transparent legislative channels:
The "Executive Agent" Loophole: The House version directs the Secretary of Defense to appoint a single "Executive Agent" (EA) solely focused on integrating Israeli technology into U.S. defense systems. Because this position is an administrative appointment within the Pentagon, it requires no Congressional confirmation and cannot be removed by Congress.
Overriding Defense Safeguards: Under Department of Defense rules, an Executive Agent’s authority can take precedence over other component heads. This means the designated EA could potentially bypass or overrule internal oversight bodies—like the Defense Technology Security Administration (DTSA)—which normally monitor technology security and vetting.
Bypassing the Annual Appropriations Process: Historically, military assistance relies on standard foreign aid frameworks, which require regular congressional votes, caps, and open debates. By codifying this relationship into joint research, development, and procurement, it embeds Israeli technology directly into the U.S. military supply chain. This effectively shields the funding and collaborative programs from the annual appropriations cycle.
2. Impact on the Public's "Right to Object"
While the bill does not explicitly strip citizens of their constitutional right to protest or petition their government, critics argue it functionally neutralizes the public's ability to object or exert pressure:
The "Pentagon Maze": Moving military integration into a web of Pentagon procurement, licensing agreements, and data-sharing operations makes the relationship incredibly opaque. When programs are hidden behind bureaucratic defense line-items rather than transparent aid packages, it becomes nearly impossible for regular citizens, taxpayers, and watchdog groups to monitor what is being shared or funded.
Irreversible Entanglement: By design, embedding a foreign nation’s hardware, AI software, and cybersecurity into the core U.S. defense infrastructure creates a high financial and operational barrier to exit. If a future administration or a future Congress decides that a change in policy is necessary due to public demand, unwinding a deeply integrated supply chain would cause massive delays and structural costs—effectively locking the policy in place regardless of public dissent.
Please, please, please dig deeper. Yours is a great start but this needs to be dug into and reported widely.
Thank you for this Tara. Wonderful job. You really make us think. When you put it that way. I can definitely see some political influence from Democrats not wanting to give aide.
Aid to Israel is outrageous. While we send our children to college we are paying taxes to send someone else’s kids to college too, and they arn’t even American! They are huge economy and now we are going to do it secretly. This is criminal. The people need to know!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We support all kinds of countries. We support our biggest enemy CHINA WITH OUR TRADE WITH CHINA. ENDING TRADE WITH CHINA WOULD CAUSE THEM TO HAVE TO THINK ABOUT HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS. Picking on Israel when it is NOT the worse offender is wrong and some could say discriminates against people of Jewish faith. We either have to stop trade with ALL ABUSERS, OR AT LEAST START WITH THE WORST IE CHINA, OR find other ways to show our displeasure with the applicable rulers of the applicable country.
How did we cut so much spending with DOGE but no changes in support to Israel. Other countries should never be on a retainer off of American tax payers
it's a good question
To shut help to Ukraine 🇺🇦, in order to help a murderous dictator Putin says it all to me. We should have never went to war for Israel. Is it not obvious Israel has much influence with men in our government? A joint military with Israel? This is absolutely wrong by Congress.
DOGE didn’t cut much spending. If I recall it may have actually increased spending. It was all performative.
Israeli military has benefited US in innumerable ways: testing vast weapons technology; partnering in developing many technologies; sharing weapons technology developed in Israel. To imply that US doesn't get enormous benefits is misinformed at best. And Israel is not the only country to receive support from US, not only in military, but social support. Many countries receive support without benefiting US as nearly as much.
The USA will never dig out of the debt incurred fighting Israels unnecessary wars in Iraq, Iran, against ISIS, all created by their endless greed for more land and cruelty to their neighbors. I’m done with any support for them as long as they continue to support BIBI and his genocidal right wing radicals.
It’s also true that the more informed you become on this issue the more you will realize that the all-in cost to garner the benefits you describe is by now something akin to spending $50 to make $1, plus reputational damage. Israel is a lot of things to certain Americans, but one thing it’s not is a good business decision. If it so clearly were it would not require a deceptive hard-sell lobby to maintain status quo, there would just be an organic incentive to maintain it.
Bullshit! Let Israel pay for its own f______ genocides!!!
For many, many reasons I am decidedly on one side of this issue but I also thought that this interview its companion piece were extraordinarily fair, which I value more from someone with Ms. Palmeri’s job description than merely having my own views validated. I would take issue with just one thing, and that is the use of the term ‘antisemitism’ over ‘anti-Zionism’. Not interchangeable, unless one actually believes that the majority of this country, the majority of the populations of the majority of nations on earth, a pretty fair number of Jews are antisemitic.
While other independent journalists cover frivolous stories, the Red Letter covers important topics. 1st class reporter in my view.
Thank you ❤️
“Congress should exercise far greater oversight over emerging surveillance technologies and U.S.-Israeli technology cooperation, arguing that democratic allies should not be exempt from scrutiny simply because they are allies. He called it a “fusion” of the two militaries that prevents oversight.”
Great analysis, that said, Ro Khanna is right—a fusion of our two militaries is taking place. It also gives cover for the US to develop secret weapons with unlimited black budgets outside of Congressional oversight.
Furthermore, in case no one’s noticed, we are moving military assets away from some of the gulf states and have been relying on Israeli air bases in the Middle East.
Israeli defense authorities and their US counterparts are currently exploring a proposal to establish several permanent US military bases on Israeli territory, relocating selected American assets from across the Middle East into a more centralized posture — under early-stage consideration as of late March 2026. —Army Recognition.com
https://armyrecognition.com/news/army-news/2026/israel-reportedly-explores-establishing-us-military-bases-on-its-soil-after-iran-war-ends
And if this deal is consummated, especially if some of the other proposals are implemented—it won’t matter who’s in charge (dems or republicans)—once we are there and integration is complete or close, it will be a very expensive and time consuming proposition to leave. IMHO…:)
Nice interviewing skills, Tara. You stayed after Representative Stutzman who seemed to be hiding the truth.
thank you, left or right. I try to be fair
These comments all curiously tilt in one direction. Israel is a reliable ally and always has been. No countries are perfect.
We best support democratic European countries (NATO) over Israel.
When dealing with our current administration and Israel you absolutely need to read the fine print. Don’t trust any of them. We need to pull support financially in aid and militarily. It’s time for Israel to stand alone. Learn what it is to be a good partner, a good neighbor, a good Democratic state and a country that stands for human rights. At the moment they are not that so we shouldn’t be supporting them.
I haven’t trusted any of them for a very long time. Sounds like America is the new Israel to me.
Im hoping that we are able to turn this around. I hate what we are becoming.
Me too!
Of course this maneuver will NOT eliminate aid to Israel. Like many of the other maneuvers this regime makes (see $$$ to insurrectionists, etc) to cloud the publics view, an agreement tween U.S. military and Israel will camouflage the billions going to that welfare nation.
Exactly
The current Congress will not cut aid to Israel. They may alter the way aid is provided .
Exactly
Since Republicans say the US is a Christian Nation, we should definitely pull all support from Israel. Let God protect or punish Israel just as He did in the Old Testament. This is not being antisemitic. We can still love and respect Judaism as we as Hinduism, etc., but not give military support to any nation than commits genocide
They have been twisting the bible in Israel favor for a long time.
Genocide is a non-thinking label. There is no genocide committed by Israel. They're fighting a defensive war with a low civilian casualty ratio. Don't throw critical thinking out the window.
Take the blinders OFF
More doublespeak from our politicians. Of course we are not going to quit funding Isreal and all the grafting going on...and Isreal would never not accept billions of $$$ to steal from! Great reporting!
thank you
They are in the NDAA joining each other, in all ways and it will not be suject to
Congressional oversight or to the People objection. They will become so immersed and inmeshed as to be inseparable.
Derived from the "U.S.-Israel FUTURES Act", this proposal establishes the United States-Israel Defense Technology Cooperation Initiative. It is tracked under the following specific legislative markers:
House Version: Section 219 (originally introduced as Section 224).
Senate Version: Section 1217.
Policy analysts, human rights organizations, and dissenting lawmakers have raised major concerns about how these specific sections isolate military cooperation from democratic oversight and public accountability.
1. How the Initiative Sidesteps Congressional Oversight.
Critics point out that the initiative alters the structural nature of how the U.S. supports the Israeli military, shifting it away from transparent legislative channels:
The "Executive Agent" Loophole: The House version directs the Secretary of Defense to appoint a single "Executive Agent" (EA) solely focused on integrating Israeli technology into U.S. defense systems. Because this position is an administrative appointment within the Pentagon, it requires no Congressional confirmation and cannot be removed by Congress.
Overriding Defense Safeguards: Under Department of Defense rules, an Executive Agent’s authority can take precedence over other component heads. This means the designated EA could potentially bypass or overrule internal oversight bodies—like the Defense Technology Security Administration (DTSA)—which normally monitor technology security and vetting.
Bypassing the Annual Appropriations Process: Historically, military assistance relies on standard foreign aid frameworks, which require regular congressional votes, caps, and open debates. By codifying this relationship into joint research, development, and procurement, it embeds Israeli technology directly into the U.S. military supply chain. This effectively shields the funding and collaborative programs from the annual appropriations cycle.
2. Impact on the Public's "Right to Object"
While the bill does not explicitly strip citizens of their constitutional right to protest or petition their government, critics argue it functionally neutralizes the public's ability to object or exert pressure:
The "Pentagon Maze": Moving military integration into a web of Pentagon procurement, licensing agreements, and data-sharing operations makes the relationship incredibly opaque. When programs are hidden behind bureaucratic defense line-items rather than transparent aid packages, it becomes nearly impossible for regular citizens, taxpayers, and watchdog groups to monitor what is being shared or funded.
Irreversible Entanglement: By design, embedding a foreign nation’s hardware, AI software, and cybersecurity into the core U.S. defense infrastructure creates a high financial and operational barrier to exit. If a future administration or a future Congress decides that a change in policy is necessary due to public demand, unwinding a deeply integrated supply chain would cause massive delays and structural costs—effectively locking the policy in place regardless of public dissent.
Please, please, please dig deeper. Yours is a great start but this needs to be dug into and reported widely.
Thank you for this Tara. Wonderful job. You really make us think. When you put it that way. I can definitely see some political influence from Democrats not wanting to give aide.
Aid to Israel is outrageous. While we send our children to college we are paying taxes to send someone else’s kids to college too, and they arn’t even American! They are huge economy and now we are going to do it secretly. This is criminal. The people need to know!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
That would be great
the question is if this actually do that
That's right. This regime will flip on a dime. I wish there were more accountability and that they were held to it as well.
We support all kinds of countries. We support our biggest enemy CHINA WITH OUR TRADE WITH CHINA. ENDING TRADE WITH CHINA WOULD CAUSE THEM TO HAVE TO THINK ABOUT HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS. Picking on Israel when it is NOT the worse offender is wrong and some could say discriminates against people of Jewish faith. We either have to stop trade with ALL ABUSERS, OR AT LEAST START WITH THE WORST IE CHINA, OR find other ways to show our displeasure with the applicable rulers of the applicable country.
Yeah. That Bugs Bunny skit was too easy.