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Some progressives have pressed the White House to be more forthcoming. Rep. Cori Bush (D-Mo) recently told The Washington Post, "The Biden administration should provide the same transparency around arms transfers to Israel that it has for Ukraine and other countries."

https://www.axios.com/2023/11/29/us-weapons-provided-israel-aircraft-missiles-bombs

Has the White House given a reason as to why there's not the same degree of transparency around arms transfers to Israel that it has for Ukraine? I am guessing that it is to ensure greater security for Israel as knowing the type of armament being given to Israel may hurt Israel and compel its enemies to attack. I think it said that it was done to ship arms faster, but then again they can still provide the information to Congress, but they won't.

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  • YMMV: "the Biden administration has used an emergency law to bypass Congress and authorise the sale of some 14,000 rounds of tank ammunition worth more than $106m (£85m) to Israel." bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-67670679
    – Make StackExchange GREAT 4ever
    Commented Dec 10, 2023 at 13:47
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    Transparency in name/type/amount of weapons or budget?
    – C.F.G
    Commented Dec 10, 2023 at 13:49
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    Even if they gave a reason, would it be the real one? Given that the reasons given for providing weapons to Israel in the first place seem kind of doubtful. Ukraine is relatively weak relative to Russia, so it certainly does need more weapons to defend itself. Israel clearly is much stronger than Hamas, so the additional weapons seem rather unnecessary. One might even reach the depressing conclusion that it is more a very expensive show of support than anything else....
    – Obie 2.0
    Commented Dec 10, 2023 at 14:03
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    Not that the current attacks on Hamas are terribly defensive in nature either, one has to admit....
    – Obie 2.0
    Commented Dec 10, 2023 at 14:09
  • I think a more important question to ask is if our military currently has an adequate amount of ammunition to fight in an unexpected conflict if one were to suddenly arise today, such as China invading Taiwan or North Korea invading South Korea. I think President Biden has a responsibility to ensure that our military always has what it needs to succeed on the battlefield at any given time.
    – user39026
    Commented Dec 10, 2023 at 14:53

1 Answer 1

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Transferring weapons to Ukraine openly has the advantage of sending a message to the Russian government that the West is committed to helping Ukraine, something that (a) Putin has not counted on before the invasion, and (b) Putin hopes will go away with time, as the Western resolve gets depleted. An additional advantage of open transfer of military and other aid to Ukraine is the strong message sent to other authoritarian, aggressive countries around the world no to engage in land grabs, otherwise they will face the collective might of the West. These countries include, but are not limited to, China, Iran and North Korea, all of which have been threatening and/or openly preparing to armed conflict with its neighbors.

There is no such similar advantage in so much additional transparency in transferring weapons to Israel. In fact, there are possible costs to it, as the United States is trying to balance its aid to Israel with the aid to the Palestinian population, and attempts to help contain the conflict. Instead, the US chose to position its forces directly in the Middle East to deter other actors from spreading the conflict with Israel wider.

References:

Secretary Antony Blinken @SecBlinken

I met with an Arab League-OIC delegation from Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Türkiye, and the Palestinian Authority to discuss efforts to meet Gaza’s humanitarian needs. We discussed our shared goal of establishing a future Palestinian state alongside Israel.

12:16 AM · Dec 9, 2023

Secretary Antony Blinken on X

Blinken - humanitarian aid to Gaza

Secretary Antony Blinken @SecBlinken

Urgently addressing humanitarian needs in Gaza is a shared priority for both the United States and Saudi Arabia. Met with @FaisalbinFarhan to discuss efforts to reinforce regional stability and security, as well as the need to end the devastating conflicts in Yemen and Sudan.

11:47 PM · Dec 8, 2023

Secretary Antony Blinken on X

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