The Cost of War Project at Brown University calculated that total US military support to Israel over the past two years has cost US taxpayers over $30 billion. Israel has received over $21 billion in military aid from the US and Washington has bombed Iran and Yemen for Tel Aviv.
According to the study, the US has provided Israel with tens of thousands of bombs and other weaponry following the Hamas attack in southern Israel two years ago. The American arms have fueled Israel’s genocide in Gaza.
The mass killing in Gaza with US weapons has pushed a growing number of Americans to oppose military aid and weapon sales to Israel. However, the growing opposition to the special relationship Washington has with Tel Aviv did not lead President Joe Biden or Donald Trump to curtail the flow of arms to Israel.
Additionally, Israel’s aggression in the Middle East has drawn the US into other wars. Both Biden and Trump engaged in large-scale bombing operations in Yemen in an effort to force Ansar Allah to end its blockade of the Red Sea and stop attacking Israel.
Ansar Allah enacted the policy in support of Gaza, and says the blockade and attack will end once Israel halts its genocidal onslaught in the Strip. While the bombing cost the US billions of dollars, it failed to force Ansar Allah to end the blockade.
President Trump also joined Tel Aviv’s aggressive war against Iran and intercepted missiles targeting Israel. Overall, the US has spent between $10 and $13 billion helping Israel wage wars across the Middle East over the past two years.
The author of the Cost of War study, William Hartung, notes that it only calculates the weapons that have been delivered to Israel and does not include weapons that the US has promised to deliver to Israel in the future.
Last month, the White House approved a $6 billion arms sale to Israel that will be paid for with US military aid. Washington has promised to provide Israel with at least $3.8 billion in annual military assistance. After Israel started the onslaught in Gaza, the US approved an additional, $14 billion in military aid for Israel.
Kyle Anzalone is the opinion editor of Anitwar.com and news editor of the Libertarian Institute. He hosts The Kyle Anzalone Show and is co-host of Conflicts of Interest with Connor Freeman.
