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<a class="gmail-domain gmail-reader-domain" href="https://inthesetimes.com/article/united-states-israel-precision-guided-munitions-stockpile">inthesetimes.com</a>
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<h1 class="gmail-reader-title">How Israel Got an Endless Supply of U.S.-Made Smart Bombs</h1>
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<div class="gmail-reader-estimated-time" dir="ltr">December 4, 2023<br></div>
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<img src="cid:ii_lpshevf50" alt="Jabalia-refugee-camp-PGMs.jpg" width="435" height="296"><br><p dir="ltr"><span>The United States has had</span>
the authority to quietly transfer precision-guided munitions, or PGMs,
to Israel for the past three years through a little-noticed provision
passed by Congress in January <span>2021</span>. </p>
<p dir="ltr">Section <span>1275</span> of the <a href="https://www.congress.gov/116/plaws/publ283/PLAW-116publ283.pdf" target="_blank"><span>2021</span> National Defense Authorization Act</a> (NDAA) allows a limitless transfer of PGMs from U.S. reserve stocks to Israel’s stockpile without <a href="https://www.acquisition.gov/dfars/225.871-7-congressional-notification." target="_blank">normal </a>congressional notifications, as long as U.S <span></span><span>“</span>combat readiness” isn’t compromised.</p>
<p dir="ltr">PGMs — which include any guided missile designed to hit an extremely precise target — have been an Israeli <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/04/us/politics/israel-gaza-deaths-bombs.html" target="_blank">weapon of choice</a> in the massive and deadly bombardment that has <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-67565872" target="_blank">destroyed</a> an estimated <span>98</span>,<span>000</span> buildings in Gaza and <a href="https://sg.news.yahoo.com/gaza-deaths-over-15-000-144952891.html" target="_blank">reportedly</a> killed more than <span>15</span>,<span>000</span> Palestinians. Satellite-guided bombs (a type of PGM) of between <span>1</span>,<span>000</span> and <span>2</span>,<span>000</span> pounds made up about <span>90</span>% of the weapons the Israeli military <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/04/us/politics/israel-gaza-deaths-bombs.html" target="_blank">used</a> in the first two weeks after October <span>7</span>.<br></p>
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<p><img src="https://imgproxy.gridwork.co/jQ1cHTXBZrxe5WfRiFeE1hkbEJE65obZfZZN8kLju50/w:700/h:393/rt:fill/g:fp:0.5:0.5/q:82/el:1/aHR0cHM6Ly9zMy51cy1lYXN0LTIuYW1hem9uYXdzLmNvbS9pdHQtaW1hZ2VzL0lUVF9XZWJfUEdNXzEyMDMyMy5qcGc.jpg" alt="" class="gmail-moz-reader-block-img" width="435" height="244" style="margin-right: 0px;"></p>
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<p dir="ltr">While PGM’s advanced targeting is billed as a way to <a href="https://www.justsecurity.org/74619/avoiding-collateral-damage-on-the-battlefield/" target="_blank">avoid</a> civilian harm, they have been linked to many <a href="https://www.justsecurity.org/74619/avoiding-collateral-damage-on-the-battlefield/" target="_blank">strikes</a> by Israel and other <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/aug/19/us-supplied-bomb-that-killed-40-children-school-bus-yemen" target="_blank">U.S. allies</a> on densely populated areas, including on Gaza’s Jabalia <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/nov/01/jabalia-camp-airstrike-gaza" target="_blank">refugee camp.</a> A spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) <a href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/cnns-wolf-blitzer-confronts-idf-flack-who-admits-to-jabalia-refugee-camp-bombing#:~:text=A%20spokesperson%20for%20the%20Israeli,said%2C%20according%20to%20Al%20Jazeera." target="_blank">admitted</a> to CNN’s Wolf Blitzer that they struck the camp knowing the area was crowded with civilians.</p>
<p dir="ltr">President Joe Biden says that the United States has been <span></span><span>“</span>surging additional military assistance” to Israel since October <span>7</span>. But government <a href="https://www.stimson.org/2023/learning-from-ukraine-to-strengthen-oversight-of-u-s-military-aid-to-israel/" target="_blank">reporting</a> on the details of that assistance has been sporadic and opaque.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Now, a source in the State Department confirms to <em>In These Times</em> and Women for Weapons Trade Transparency that Section <span>1275</span> has been invoked since October <span>7</span> to rush more PGMs to Israel.</p>
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<p><img src="https://imgproxy.gridwork.co/toAGl6qbqA6ZcGEy1NT9xOBcSjGLe6niAhtf-pQc2YA/w:700/h:525/rt:fill/g:fp:0.5:0.5/q:82/el:1/aHR0cHM6Ly9zMy51cy1lYXN0LTEuYW1hem9uYXdzLmNvbS9pbi10aGVzZS10aW1lcy9KREFNcy1wcmVjaXNpb24tZ3VpZGVkLW11bml0aW9ucy1KYWJhbGlhLXJlZnVnZWUtY2FtcC5qcGc.jpg" alt="People carry a stretcher through a street filled with rubble." class="gmail-moz-reader-block-img" width="435" height="326" style="margin-right: 0px;"></p><p>Analysts
believe Israel used Boeing-manufactured JDAMs, a type of
precision-guided missile, in strikes on the Jabalia refugee camp in Gaza
that left an estimated 195 dead. <span>Photo by Sami Abu Tabak/Anadolu via Getty Images</span>
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<h3>An endless stockpile</h3>
<p dir="ltr">Israel lobbied the United States for greater access to PGMs in the wake of its <span>2014</span> assault on Gaza that left some <span>2</span>,<span>200</span>
Palestinians dead. The Israeli government argued that it needed more
smart bombs to use against Hamas and Hezbollah in case of emergency.
Section <span>1275</span> of the <span>2021</span> NDAA was seemingly
meant to fulfill that request, enabling the president to bypass normal
weapons spending caps on transfers of PGMs already stored in
U.S. reserves.</p>
<p dir="ltr"><span>“</span>Although it is almost impossible for
independent experts to trace due to a lack of basic transparency, there
is little doubt that Israel and the U.S. took advantage of the
provision,” says William Hartung, senior research fellow at the Quincy
Institute for Responsible Statecraft. <span></span><span>“</span>The
whole purpose of doing it in this fashion is to hide the extent of these
deadly transfers — and the mechanisms used to carry them out — from
public view.”</p>
<p dir="ltr">The <em>Jerusalem Post </em>reported in <span>2021</span> that the United States quickly replenished the hundreds of PGMs dropped on the Gaza Strip in May <span>2021</span> and that Israel planned to purchase <span></span><span>“</span>far more” by <span>2024</span>.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Hartung says that the common-sense logic in Washington D.C. is that U.S. weapons transfers should <span></span><span>“</span>increase stability” or <span></span><span>“</span>bolster the ability of allies to defend themselves.” </p>
<p dir="ltr"><span>“</span>While this may be true in some cases, in many
others — such as U.S. arms supplies to Saudi Arabia for use in the war
in Yemen or for Israel’s war on Gaza — pouring in arms to regions of
tension enables human rights abuses, entrenches authoritarian regimes
and fuels deadly conflict,” he says.</p>
<p dir="ltr"><em>A </em>New York Times<em> investigation found that Israel used JDAMs — a type of PGM — in May <span>2021</span> attacks on a Gaza apartment complex that killed civilian families.</em><br></p>
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<h3>Civilian killings, precisely targeted </h3>
<p dir="ltr">The Biden administration argues that guided weapons are
a valuable tool to reduce civilian casualties by enabling more precise
targeting. But U.S. policy decisions have tacitly admitted that
sometimes the opposite is true. In <span>2016</span>, President Barack Obama’s administration <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-saudiarabia-yemen-exclusive-idUSKBN1421UK/" target="_blank">suspended</a> PGM sales to Saudi Arabia due to <span></span><span>“</span>systemic, endemic” concerns that the advanced weaponry was deployed against civilian targets.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Supplying these attack munitions to Israel, a government with a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrYHge7tqsQ&t=11s" target="_blank">history</a> of striking civilian infrastructure with PGMs — and which has <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/israel-gaza-bombing" target="_blank">publicly stated</a> that the emphasis of its bombing of Gaza is <span></span><span>“</span>damage and not accuracy” — has been particularly controversial.</p>
<p dir="ltr"><span>When the State Department </span><a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/11/06/politics/us-israel-weapons-sale-transfer/index.html" target="_blank">notified</a><span> Congress on October <span>31</span> that it planned to transfer $<span>320</span> million in kits to convert unguided bombs into precision munitions, Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) introduced a </span><a href="https://omar.house.gov/media/press-releases/rep-omar-introduces-resolution-block-weapons-sale-used-fund-war-crimes-gaza" target="_blank">resolution</a><span>
of disapproval in a move applauded by peace and arms control civil
society groups, including Women for Weapons Trade Transparency.</span></p>
<p dir="ltr">There is ample evidence that PGMs have been used in the current Israeli campaign in <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/03/world/middleeast/israel-bomb-jabaliya.html" target="_blank">strikes</a> against civilian infrastructure. Marc Garlasco, a military advisor at the Dutch peace organization PAX, says that <span></span><span>“</span>photos
of weapon remnants, craters, and reporting out of Israel and Gaza
indicate strikes carried out in Gaza City, including strikes at multiple
refugee camps, were conducted with GBU-<span>31</span>’s and other [PGMs].” Analysts <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/nov/01/jabalia-camp-airstrike-gaza" target="_blank">believe</a> Israel used a <a href="https://www.af.mil/About-Us/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/104572/joint-direct-attack-munition-gbu-313238/" target="_blank">Boeing</a>-manufactured guided bomb unit, a kind of PGM, during its Oct. <span>31</span>-Nov. <span>2</span> <a href="https://www.bellingcat.com/news/2023/10/31/confirming-a-strike-on-jabalia-refugee-camp-as-israeli-forces-approach-gaza-city/" target="_blank">airstrikes </a>on Jabalia Refugee Camp, which reportedly killed <a href="https://www.reuters.com/graphics/ISRAEL-PALESTINIANS/GAZA-JABALIA/byprrdygjpe/" target="_blank"><span>195</span> people</a>. </p>
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<h3>Less and less transparency</h3>
<p dir="ltr">In its request for $<span>14</span>.<span>5</span> billion in military aid to Israel, the Biden administration is following the precedent set by Section <span>1275</span>
and other NDAA amendments by further undercutting transparency in all
stockpile transfers, not just for PGMs. The President’s requested
supplemental bill would <a href="https://theintercept.com/2023/11/25/biden-israel-weapons-stockpile-arms-gaza/" target="_blank">waive the annual cap</a> on transfers to the U.S. stockpile within Israel. With no limit on those transfers and Israel’s <a href="https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/08/best-friends-dont-have-to-ask-110036/" target="_blank">ability</a>
to draw from that stockpile at will, the U.S. would supply Israel with
a virtually endless supply of weaponry without congressional
authorization or oversight. </p>
<p dir="ltr">The Senate is currently <a href="https://www.democrats.senate.gov/news/press-releases/majority-leader-schumer-floor-remarks-on-the-urgent-need-to-pass-a-bipartisan-national-security-supplemental-package" target="_blank">working</a> to pass the supplemental, with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) saying the bill could be up for a vote as <a href="https://www.democrats.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/majority-leader-schumer-floor-remarks-on-the-urgent-need-to-pass-national-security-supplemental-funding-legislation-to-support-our-friends-and-allies-and-defend-democracy" target="_blank">early</a> as this week.</p>
<p dir="ltr">The White House’s supplemental request also contained
another transparency waiver, first reported by Women for Weapons Trade
Transparency and <em>In These Times</em> last month, which would let the White House <a href="https://inthesetimes.com/article/white-house-request-waiver-arms-sales-gaza-israel">unilaterally blanket-approve</a> future sales of military equipment and weapons to Israel without notifying Congress.</p>
<p dir="ltr">In response, some Democrats want <a href="https://www.vanhollen.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/letter_to_president_biden_on_gaza.pdf" target="_blank">stronger assurances</a> that U.S. weapons will be used consistently with U.S. law and called for greater transparency in transfers.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Several high-ranking Democrats have already come out
against giving Biden increased powers to transfer weapons to Israel
without scrutiny. <span></span><span>“</span>We should not make
exceptions to this practice — it’s our duty to review these funds and
ensure their use is in the best interests of the American people and in
alignment with U.S. policy,” Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), a member of
the Foreign Relations Committee, said in a statement to the <em>Washington Post</em>.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Sen. Schumer’s office did not respond by deadline to an
inquiry about whether the two transparency waivers will be included in
the bill.<br></p>
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<p><a href="https://inthesetimes.com/authors/ari-tolany">
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<p dir="ltr"><span><a href="https://inthesetimes.com/authors/ari-tolany">Ari Tolany</a></span>
is a research consultant with Women for Weapons Trade Transparency,
where her research focuses on the arms trade, civilian harm, and state
fragility. Previously, Ari was the U.S. program manager at Center for
Civilians in Conflict and a Scoville Peace Fellow at the
Stimson Center. <br></p>
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<p><a href="https://inthesetimes.com/authors/lillian-mauldin">
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<p><span><a href="https://inthesetimes.com/authors/lillian-mauldin">Lillian Mauldin</a></span>
is a Founding Board Member of Women for Weapons Trade Transparency and
a Research Fellow at the Center for International Policy. Her work
focuses on political strategy and legislative and grassroots advocacy.</p>
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<p><a href="https://inthesetimes.com/authors/janet-abou-elias">
<br>
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</p>
<p><span><a href="https://inthesetimes.com/authors/janet-abou-elias">Janet Abou-Elias</a></span>
is a Founding Board Member of Women for Weapons Trade Transparency and
a Research Fellow at the Center for International Policy. Her research
focuses on international arms trade policy, U.S. foreign policy, and
sustainability initiatives.</p>
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<p><span><a href="https://inthesetimes.com/authors/women-for-weapons-trade-transparency">Women for Weapons Trade Transparency</a></span>
is a nonprofit committed to producing high-quality research on the
international weapons trade and advocating for humane and sustainable
global demilitarization policies.</p>
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