Left-of-center media reports often focus on the percentage of GDP that Israel spends on its military.  Just last year, the Haaretz newspaper in Israel trumpeted the following report: Israel shells out almost a fifth of national budget on defense, figures show... State spending is more than six times what industrialized nations and Arab countries drop, on average... Almost a fifth of Israel's budget went on defense in 2009, according to a new report. The country is spending far more than other industrialized nations on security, with over half those costs going on salary expenses. Israel also spends proportionally more on defense than any other country in the Middle East… Even Turkey and Iran, which consider themselves military powerhouses, spent proportionately less. For the sake of comparison: In 2009, Israel spent 6.7% of its gross domestic product. The United States, meanwhile, spent 5% of its GDP on defense; Britain 2.8% and Germany 1.2%. In Kuwait,...(Read Full Post)