Israel exported over $9 billion worth of arms and munitions (aka “defense technology”) in 2011 alone.  This is from a tiny country; the population of the United States is 99 times greater than that of Israel.

It isn’t just a coterie of UCSD literature professors — together with this M.A. alumnus in English and American literature — who feel the world would be a safer place if Israel trimmed its “defense technology” exports. Israel would have been the third largest exporter of such technology in the world — just behind Russia and the U.S. — had not its $1 billion China deal for an early warning system been blocked by the Pentagon.

As UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon wrote in 2012, “Many defense establishments now recognize that security means far more than protecting borders. Grave security concerns can arise as a result of demographic trends, chronic poverty, economic inequality, environmental degradation, pandemic diseases, organized crime, repressive governance and other developments no state can control alone. Arms can’t address such concerns.” 

Last year, global military spending reportedly exceeded $1.7 trillion — in a single day — almost twice the UN’s annual budget.

Retiring Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton will testify Jan. 23 before the House Foreign Affairs Committee about the deadly Sept. 11 assault on the U.S. mission in Libya.

She’ll be asked to corroborate former CIA Director David Petraeus’ testimony that he “knew almost immediately after the Sept. 11 attack, that the group Ansar al-Sharia, the al Qaeda sympathizing group in Libya, was responsible.” She almost certainly won’t be asked about Paula Broadwell’s statement, “The CIA annex had actually taken a couple of Libyan militia members prisoner, and they think that the attack on the consulate was an effort to try to get these prisoners back.

So that’s still being vetted… the challenging thing for General Petraeus is that in his new position, he’s not allowed to communicate with the press. So he’s known all of this. They had correspondence with the CIA station chief in Libya.” Clinton was hospitalized with a blood clot in her head last month. President Barack Obama has nominated Sen. John Kerry to replace her.  

Israel’s Prime Minister is up for re-election Jan. 22. His — Benjamin Netanyahu’s — “acceptance in principle”… as they say…of a demilitarized Palestinian state is mere lip service for eworldwide consumption.  His assurances are meaningless without the evacuation of the West Bank settlements.

—Richard Thompson
Alumnus ‘83