Israel v Hamas

CPFCSaturn said:
My understanding is different - from ChatGPT:

The current $2.8bn package, although calling it a “sale” is technically accurate in the U.S. arms-export system but potentially misleading without explaining how it is financed.


The key distinction is:


  • The U.S. is formally describing the package as a Foreign Military Sale (FMS) to Israel.
  • But most of the $2.8bn is expected to be paid for using U.S. Foreign Military Financing (FMF). In other words, the U.S. government provides Israel with the money, and Israel uses that money to purchase the U.S. weapons.
  • So, yes, U.S. taxpayers are ultimately funding most of this particular “sale.” The Washington Post explicitly reports that the $2.8bn package “would be purchased with U.S. taxpayer dollars.”
  • This isn't unusual in the U.S.-Israel relationship. Congress appropriates roughly $3.3bn annually in FMF for Israel under the current assistance framework, with additional supplemental military assistance provided since October 2023.
Click to expand...
ChatGPT is going to give you back what you ask for, so just be aware that you need to make sure you are reading what it says. You'll need to look at the sources where it got the data from as it is easy to manipulate. For example, did yours reference Democracy Now! or did it have a more unbiased reference?

For example, when it says "technically accurate" it means it is accurate. It is kind of like saying "technically pregnant," it either is or it isn't. While the US government does make and sell small arms ammunition, it does not make missiles so there is no way for the US government to just give a gift, which means it has to be FMS unless it comes through Global Train and Equip (which is a different program then FMS but is still executed by DSCA under the oversight of the Secretary of Defense). Is this all super confusing? Absolutely, which is why 99.99% of all American servicemembers have no clue how it runs and and even smaller number of civilians do.

US FMF goes to between 60-70 countries a year, depending on prioritization for what the US is looking for regarding national security at the time. FMF is how the US got Israel, Egypt and Jordan to stop attacking each other, good old fashioned bribery. FMF is a large portion of the US strategy against China in the Pacific. That is how the Philippines can afford new missiles and ships despite having a trash economy.
 
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