Posted on 11/05/2003 3:23:04 PM PST by yonif
Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz flies to Washington next week for key meetings with top US officials.
Mofaz was to have visited Washington in September but that Prime Minister Ariel Sharon asked him to postpone the trip following the suicide bombings in Jerusalem's Cafe Hillel and army bus stop in Tzrifin.
It was rescheduled so that the defense chief can participate in the rollout ceremony for the first new F-16 I fighter jet that aerospace giant Lockheed Martin will deliver next week in Texas.
Prior to that, Mofaz will travel to Washington where he is to meet with his American counterpart Donald Rumsfeld and Secretary of State Colin Powell. He will also parley with National Security Adviser Condoleeza Rice and other top defense and foreign policy officials as well as US Senators.
The meetings are scheduled for next Tuesday and Wednesday. Accompanying Mofaz will be director general of the Defense Ministry Amos Yaron, who is currently in Korea, and Amos Gilad, the head of the Security and Politico bureau.
Mofaz will be joining a contingent of pilots and OC Air Force Maj.-Gen. Dan Halutz in Ft. Worth for next Friday's rollout ceremony of the first of 102 F-16I fighter jets. That $4.5 billion contract is the largest ever defense deal ever made in the history of the state. The aircraft were purchased with part of the annual $2.2 billion in military grants from the United States.
Mofaz is scheduled to spend the weekend in New York City and return from his weeklong trip after the Sabbath.
Kinda like to fly one of those F-16I's. after Israel get's done with their modifications.
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