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The administration of President Barack Obama seeks to cut the amount of money Israel receives for its missile defense systems in 2013 by $6.3 million relative to the 2012 budget proposal, according to a report in the Washington Free Beacon.
Attempts to reduce the amount of missile defense aid that Israel receives "appear to be a growing trend in the president’s budget proposals," writes the Free Beacon's Adam Kredo.
The cuts would affect joint U.S.-Israel projects Arrow and David's Sling.
According to the report, the administration requested $121.7 million in military aid for Israel’s missile defense programs in 2011. That number dropped to $106.1 million in the 2012 budget proposal, and is down to $99.8 million in Obama’s newly released 2013 proposal.
"The continued downward slide in President Obama’s requests for critical US-Israel missile defense programs is troubling, and while Israel can continue to rely on close friends on Capitol Hill to make up the shortfall in funds needed, one is left wondering what President Obama would do if he becomes a lame duck President,” a defense budget analyst told the Free Beacon.
Matt Brooks, executive director of the Republican Jewish Coalition, was angered by the report. “For an administration which tried to claim that it’s the best for Israel’s security," he was quoted as saying, "cutting critical funds for missile defense at a time when the threat from Iran has never been greater is extremely dangerous, worrisome and reckless."
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