Four-Eight-Four [dot org]

Thanks to NetNewsWire/NewsGator, I just got finished reading an excellent article about Ron Paul and our nation and its policy towards Israel (”Ron Paul’s Israel Problem“). He points out, quite rightly, that the major stumbling blocks for most Conservative Christians in regards to Ron Paul’s positions are his opposition to the continued occupation of Iraq and his opposition to continued aid for Israel. Baldwin then goes on to argue quite coherently that:

1. If Israel is God’s chosen nation and/or the Jews are His chosen people, then he can jolly well take care of them without our help,
2. No matter what you think of Israel and the Jews and how they relate to the doctrine of eschatology (the end times), our “aid” to Israel is hardly that, and
3. Despite all of our “aid” to Israel, they’ve not always behaved in ways that could be classified as “friendly” towards the United States, so
4. We’d be well served in thinking seriously about our policy in the Middle East, especially in regards to Israel … and that Ron Paul is really on the right track here.

Let’s start with this:

Unfortunately, many (if not most) of today’s evangelical Christians have bought into the whole neocon warmongering mentality. Somewhere along the way, evangelicals have forgotten the historic Christian understanding of “just war,” not to mention our Savior’s promise of divine blessing upon peacemakers. They have allowed President George W. Bush and his fellow warmongers to hijack the legitimate use of defensive war and turn it into a commitment to aggressive and preemptive war.

If the United States continues on its current path of aggressive, preemptive war, incessant nation-building, empire-building, and globalism, our country will collapse. If history teaches us anything, it teaches us that no super-power can long survive global warfare. The economic, moral, and spiritual strain on the nation would be more than it could long endure. In other words, Bush’s war doctrine has put America on a crash course with disaster, and evangelicals are downright foolish to go along with it.

I can’t improve on that, so let’s move along.

So, what’s this about our aid actually being harmful to Israel? Well, try this:

My dear Christian brethren, let’s get real: America’s policies toward Israel have not been a blessing to her. They have been a curse … For example, America continues to furnish Israel’s enemies with three times more aid and assistance than it does Israel. Three times. Is that being a blessing to Israel? America gives unflinching and magnanimous support to militant Muslim governments such as Saudi Arabia. There is no nation in the Middle East that has harbored, trained, supplied, and supported more terrorists than Saudi Arabia. Is that being a blessing to Israel? In addition, every time an American President wants to meddle in Middle Eastern affairs, he insists that Israel give up land for peace. President Bush is doing that very thing anew and afresh at this very moment. Is that being a blessing to Israel?

Let me assure the reader (if he or she needs assurance) that Israel knows how to defend itself. In fact, Israel has over 300 nuclear weapons. Israel has enough weaponry and nuclear capability to take out any threat to its sovereignty that any Arab nation–or group of Arab nations–could mount against it.

…

If Iraq was a legitimate threat, Israel could have taken out Baghdad, Saddam Hussein, and his entire army with little difficulty. The same is true right now with Iran. If Iran is a legitimate threat, Israel could launch whatever attack is necessary to defend itself. It should not need Washington’s permission. Israel is a sovereign nation. It should have the right to defend itself as it deems necessary. Frankly, it is none of Washington’s business. The truth is, Israel’s perennial precariousness is a direct result of Washington’s constant interference.

Now … on to his allegations that Israel hasn’t always acted as our friend:

Furthermore, Christians need to understand that Jewish interests are not always harmonious with the interests of Christianity or the interests of the United States. Israel certainly did not act in a friendly fashion when it attacked the Navy intelligence ship, the USS Liberty, in 1967. That attack was the second deadliest against a U.S. vessel since the end of World War II. The attack also marked the single greatest loss of life by the U.S. intelligence community. 34 U.S. servicemen were killed and 173 were wounded in that attack. In addition, Israel is often found to be engaged in espionage within the United States. Should America turn a blind eye to such activities? Of course not.

I’ll be perfectly honest with you, I had absolutely no idea what he was talking about. We sure didn’t cover this in history class in school (no surprise, since the ‘official’ history taught in public schools often bears about as much resemblance to the real deal as I do to Greta Garbo). I checked out the Wikipedia article on the USS Liberty incident, and here’s what I found:

The USS Liberty, an intelligence-gathering ship, was poking around the Sinai peninsula during the Six-Day War in 1967 (I know, you’re shocked that we would even be hanging out over there), and was attacked by Israeli fighters and torpedo boats. The official Israeli and American position is that the attack was an accident, and that Israeli forces mistook the ship for an Egyptian vessel (that was only half the size of the Liberty). But …

These conclusions have been challenged from several fronts, most notably by an organization of Liberty survivors, as well as by some key former high-ranking officials who were in office at the time in the United States government, including the Secretary of State, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Director of the NSA, and the senior legal counsel to the U.S. Navy Court of Inquiry into the incident.

Baldwin obviously believes that Israel deliberately targeted the Liberty. After reading the article, I’m not convinced. I lean towards the attack being accidental, but I’m definitely not 100% convinced.

Regardless of whether Baldwin’s allegations concerning Israel’s attitude toward the United States are true or not, his other points still stand. Israel is hardly helpless. During the Six-Day War, they cleaned the clocks of Egypt, Jordan, and Syria (who were being aided by Iraq, Algeria, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait). Does that sound helpless to you? Is a nation that has 300 nuclear weapons … enough to probably wipe every other Middle Eastern and North African nation off the map … helpless? Israel does not need our help.

Baldwin is right. It’s time for Evangelical Christians to consider the wisdom of Ron Paul’s position on American aid to Israel.