ISRAEL’S UNIQUE CONTRIBUTION TO VITAL US INTERESTS….YORAM ETTINGER
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4030523,00.html
ISRAEL THE UNIQUE ALLY IN THE MOST TURBULENT REGION IN THE WORLD TODAY
The seismic developments in Egypt and throughout the Arab Middle East
highlight Israel’s unique contribution to vital US interests.
The significance of Israel’s strategic added-value is underlined by
uncertain and shifty Arab ideologies, policies, alliances and allegiances,
by the increasing vulnerability of pro-US Arab regimes, the intensifying
unruly nature of Arab societies, the exacerbation of Islamic terrorism, the
Iranian nuclear threat, the deepening penetration of the Arab Middle East by
Russia and China, the recent erosion of the US posture of deterrence and the
expected US evacuation of Iraq and Afghanistan.
Israel’s reliability, capability, credibility, stability, democracy and
non-conditional alliance with the USA are anomalous in the Middle East.
Egypt – a beneficiary of billions of dollars and state of the art US
military systems – enhances strategic ties with North Korea, Russia and
China, agitates the Horn of Africa and Sudan, consistently votes against the
US at the UN and institutionalizes hate-education. A post-Mubarak regime
could overtly join an anti-US axis.
Iran’s Shah had access to the most advanced US military systems. However,
the Shah was toppled; from a staunch US ally, Iran was transformed into the
most effective anti-US regime in the world.
Libya’s King Idris granted the US, in 1954, the use of Wheelus Air Base,
which became the largest US Air Force base outside the USA. In 1969, Colonel
Qaddafi overthrew King Idris and Wheelus serviced the Soviet Air Force.
Turkey shifted, in 2002, from a corner stone of the US and NATO posture of
deterrence to a major pro-Russia supporter of the anti-US Iran-Syria axis.
Jordan -a recipient of US foreign aid – was one of only two Arab regimes
which supported Saddam Hussein’s 1990 invasion of Kuwait. Jordan’s port of
Aqaba became Saddam’s most critical route of supplies during the
preparations for the 1991 US-Iraq War.
Iraq was pro-Western until the1958 anti-Western coup. However, Saddam
Hussein – who ruled Iraq since 1979 – gained the confidence of the US.
Therefore, he benefitted from a shared-intelligence agreement, the transfer
of sensitive dual-use American technologies and $5BN loan guarantees, until
his invasion of Kuwait.
Yemen was assisted by the US in its war against Aden and has benefited from
US foreign aid. Still, Sana’a supported Saddam’s invasion of Kuwait and
hosts anti-US Islamic terrorists, while occasionally fighting them.
Saudi Arabia depends on the US for its survival in the face of lethal
regional threats. The 1991 and 2003 US Gulf Wars were largely induced by
the concern of a Saddam takeover of Saudi Arabia. However, Riyad bankrolls
the operations of anti-US Islamic organizations in the US and anti-US
Islamic terrorists.
Israel, on the other hand, was described by the late General Alexander Haig,
who was a Supreme Commander of NATO and a US Secretary of State, as “the
largest US aircraft carrier, which does not require even one US soldier,
cannot be sunk, is the most cost-effective and battle-tested, located in a
region which is critical to vital US interests. If there would not be an
Israel, the US would have to deploy real aircraft carriers, along with tens
of thousands of US soldiers, which would cost tens of billions of dollars
annually, dragging the US unnecessarily into local, regional and global
conflicts. All of which is spared by the Jewish State.”
For example, in 1970, pro-Soviet Syria invaded Jordan, threatening a domino
scenario into the oil-rich Persian Gulf. The US military was preoccupied
with Vietnam and could not deploy troops to Jordan. Israel was asked to
mobilize its military, and the Syrian invasion was rolled back. Thus,
Israel denied the USSR a major coup and spared the US a potential economic
disaster, without deploying a single US soldier.
General John Keegan, a former chief of US Air Force Intelligence determined
that Israel’s contribution to the US intelligence was “equal to five CIAs.”
Senator Daniel Inouye, Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee and
former Chairman of the Intelligence Committee: “The intelligence received
from Israel exceeds the intelligence received from all NATO countries
combined.” He assessed that Soviet military hardware which was transferred,
by Israel, to the USA (P-12 Soviet radar in 1969, Mig-21 and Mig-23 Soviet
fighter aircraft in 1966 and 1989 respectively, etc.) tilted the global
balance of power in favor of the USA and amounted to a mega-billion dollar
bonus to the USA.
In 1981, Israel bombed Iraq’s nuclear reactor, thus sparing the US a nuclear
confrontation with Iraq in1991 and 2003. In 1982 and 2007, Israel
demolished Soviet surface-to-air missile batteries operated by Syria and a
Syrian-Iranian-North Korean nuclear reactor in Syria. The battle tactics –
which were the first ever to penetrate such advanced Soviet/Russian defense
systems – were shared with the US Air Force, enhancing the US military edge
over Moscow.
In 2011, US soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan benefit from Israel’s
experience in combating Improvised Explosive Devices, car bombs and suicide
bombers.
The Jewish State constitutes the most advanced battle-tested laboratory for
US military systems. The F-16 jet fighter includes over 600 Israeli-induced
modifications, which saved the manufacturer billions of dollars and many
years of research & development. Hundreds of additional US military systems,
operated by Israel, generate similar benefits, according the US defense
industries a global competitive edge and expanding US export and employment.
Upgrading the current mutually-beneficial US-Israel strategic cooperation is
required in light of the aforementioned benefits, and in response to the
turmoil in Egypt and its potential regional ripple effects, while the US
lowers its military profile in the region. For example:
*Upgrading the port facilities of Ashdod for use by the Sixth Fleet;
*Pre-positioning, in Israel, US homeland security systems, combat aircraft,
missiles, tanks and armed personnel carriers, which would expedite US
missions to preserve pro-US Arab regimes;
*Constructing, in Israel, US military facilities;
*Establishing a bi-national defense industrial cooperation fund, leveraging
each country’s competitive edge.
Enhancement of US-Israel strategic ties is natural and imperative in light
of Israel’s capabilities and the unique US-Israel common denominator:
shared-values, joint-interests and mutual-threats.
Comments are closed.
