Re: Walid Afifi's Feb. 12 letter questioning U.S. aid to Israel. Let's compare the results of financially aiding Israel, Egypt, Yemen and the Palestinian Authority. Our friendly relationship with Israel employs thousands of Americans through joint projects and trade. Boeing and Israel Aircraft Industries agreed last week to produce 50 percent of the Arrow anti-Scud missile components in the United States.

The first country to sign a free trade agreement with the U.S. in 1985, Israel has more than tripled annual American imports, $1.8 billion to $6 billion. The U.S. and Israel offer multicultural, democratic societies with free speech and press, women's rights and judicial review. Israel is the Middle East's only democracy, with three Arab parties among 13 recently elected to parliament. Intelligence sharing between Israel and the United States has been crucial to both countries' security, and Israel votes with the United States 94 percent of the time in the U.N.

We give Egypt $2.1 billion annually, fighter planes, and tanks. In return, Egypt votes against us in the U.N. 79 percent of the time and Egypt's governmental newspaper declared: "The Statue of Liberty must be destroyed because of the idiotic American policy." Mohamed Atta, of Cairo, piloted the first plane into the north tower of the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001. This year, we'll give $20 million to Yemen, which embraced al-Qaida terrorists who murdered 17 American sailors in 2000. Finally, the Palestinian Authority (PA) has thanked us for $100 million annually with cheers on Sept. 11, murders of a dozen Americans and legislators' promises to use "suicide attacks against the United States, its armed forces and its navy."