(José Niño, Headline USA) Congress just proposed tying the United States military to Israel’s armed forces more closely than ever before, Responsible Statecraft reported.
Buried inside the House version of the 2027 National Defense Authorization Act released Tuesday is Section 224, titled “United States-Israel Defense Technology Cooperation Initiative.” Ben Freeman of Responsible Statecraft contends this provision would do more to merge the two militaries than the more than $200 billion in inflation adjusted military assistance Israel has received from America since 1948.
The section creates a framework for bilateral research and development, weapons co-production, joint ventures, licensing agreements, and virtually every type of military industrial cooperation conceivable. Although the two countries already partner extensively on missile defense, this provision would dramatically broaden coordination into AI, quantum computing, autonomous systems, directed energy, cyber, biotech, and numerous other fields. It additionally proposes “network integration” and “data fusion,” meaning US military data could soon become Israeli military data.
If fully enacted, this proposal would establish a higher level of military industrial integration than America maintains with any other nation on Earth. The United States works closely with NATO partners on co-production and shared supply chains through the Defence Production Action Plan, and as the world’s top arms dealer it supplies weapons globally.
Section 224 constitutes something completely different. It would merge American and Israeli defense sectors across multiple domains critical to future warfare. It would also magnify Israeli influence beyond the existing Israel lobby and its network of paid social media influencers that Responsible Statecraft previously revealed. By expanding co-production facilities like those already operating in Mississippi and Arkansas, Israel could secure Congressional allies by delivering jobs in their districts.
The shift carries disturbing implications. As a recent Quincy Institute brief authored by Steven Simon explains, this move from aid to integration will “strip away the political and diplomatic oversight mechanisms that make the relationship publicly accountable, moving it from a visible annual aid vote into the opaque machinery of defense acquisition, where oversight is limited and political accountability is minimal.”
This development comes as Israel has repeatedly used US weapons in strikes that violated international humanitarian law in Gaza, per reports by Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and PBS. A New York Times/Siena poll found just 30 percent believe Trump made “the right decision” to go to war with Iran. An Institute for Global Affairs poll found only 16 percent back unconditional weapons supplies to Israel, while 38 percent want to halt weapons entirely.
Senator Chris Van Hollen wrote in the New York Times that “The Democratic Party has provided reflexive and unconditional support to Israeli governments, even as their actions have increasingly undermined American interests and values.”
José Niño is the deputy editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/JoseAlNino
