David Obey: “those who know me in this House know that I have a vast preference in almost all instances for economic assistance…”

“those who know me in this House know that I have a vast preference in almost all instances for economic assistance rather than military assistance, not just in the Middle East but in virtually every other area of the world. I think that for years we have been unbalanced in terms of military assistance as a policy weapon instead of trying to deal with more basic long-term economic and structural problems within recipient societies. But I happen to believe that in this instance it would be counterproductive to pass the amendment offered by the distinguished gentleman from California. I greatly respect his knowledge in the area. I respect his passion. I respect his guts. But I think that at a time when we have been questioning unilateral practices on behalf of the White House, this would be a peculiarly strange time for me on this side of the aisle to practice some unilateralism myself, and I think that is what this amendment does. Secondly, I would point out that it is in Israel's interest, as our most reliable ally in the region, it is in Israel's best interest for us to maintain the best possible relationships with our friends in the Arab world that we can possibly retain. And I would point out that right now we need Egypt to deal with the pending withdrawal from Gaza on the part of the Israelis. We need Egypt's help in training police so that we can see real security provided in that region and help protect Israel itself against attack.”