US Pressuring South Korea to Weaken South Korean-Israeli Ties
The United States is placing inordinate pressure on South Korea not to sigh a lucrative arms deal with Israel so that Boeing can get the contract:
Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI) and Elta have proposed selling the Koreans four early-warning aircraft (EWA) for $1.25 billion. In efforts to thwart the deal, the Americans have argued that part of the system includes U.S.-made parts, which require an export license. Washington is applying great pressure on South Korea to give the tender to the American firm Boeing, even though the Israeli offer is far less expensive.
Money from the export market is, of course, how the Israeli defense industry stays in business and on the cutting edge of new technologies. And the Israeli defense industry is, of course, the only thing holding off Israel's enemies - which outnumber Israel by entire orders of magnitude. If Boeing was actually more efficient, then it would be a good thing for South Korea to purchase arms from them - it would force the Israeli industry to compete, bettering the industry as a whole. But the United States' actions here amount to nothing more or less than forcibly cutting off funds to the Israeli defense industry - while allowing US firms to remain complacent in their lack of competitiveness. It's bad for US defense industries, it's bad for Israeli defense industries, and it's bad for Israel and the US.
[Cross-posted at IsraPundit]
Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI) and Elta have proposed selling the Koreans four early-warning aircraft (EWA) for $1.25 billion. In efforts to thwart the deal, the Americans have argued that part of the system includes U.S.-made parts, which require an export license. Washington is applying great pressure on South Korea to give the tender to the American firm Boeing, even though the Israeli offer is far less expensive.
Money from the export market is, of course, how the Israeli defense industry stays in business and on the cutting edge of new technologies. And the Israeli defense industry is, of course, the only thing holding off Israel's enemies - which outnumber Israel by entire orders of magnitude. If Boeing was actually more efficient, then it would be a good thing for South Korea to purchase arms from them - it would force the Israeli industry to compete, bettering the industry as a whole. But the United States' actions here amount to nothing more or less than forcibly cutting off funds to the Israeli defense industry - while allowing US firms to remain complacent in their lack of competitiveness. It's bad for US defense industries, it's bad for Israeli defense industries, and it's bad for Israel and the US.
[Cross-posted at IsraPundit]
