Posted on 06/14/2005 7:23:46 PM PDT by datura
Tuesday, June 14, 2005 The Bush administration has begun to block arms shipments to Israel and suspend joint programs after the two allies failed to resolve a dispute over arms sales to China.
U.S. officials said the Defense Department and Israeli representatives were unable to draft a memorandum of understanding that would halt Israeli weapons sales to China. They said the two sides could not agree on a supervision mechanism for Israeli arms exports.
Israel has agreed to increase government supervision of arms exports, the long-held turf of the Defense Ministry, Middle East Newsline reported. But officials said the Israeli delegation refused to accept U.S. demands for increased access to Israeli negotiations with foreign militaries. The countries were said to have included India and Singapore, two leading clients of Israel's defense industry.
"This is certainly an issue that is being discussed between the United States and Israel, and we have made our concerns about the sale and transfer of defense equipment and technology to China known to Israel," Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said on Monday.
Whitman refused to confirm a report by the Israeli daily Haaretz that the administration has demanded details of more than 60 military and security deals with China. He also did not address the Pentagon boycott of senior Israeli defense officials.
"We continue also to raise concerns with our allies, our friends and partners and look for them to take responsible approaches to arms sales to China, too," Whitman said. "This is broader than just Israel."
The failure to draft the MoU appeared to have heightened the crisis between the Pentagon and Israel's Defense Ministry. The Pentagon has boycotted high level meetings with Israeli officials since July 2004 in wake of Israel's efforts to upgrade the Harpy unmanned aerial vehicle for China.
Since then, the Pentagon has embarked on a process of escalating sanctions. They included the suspension of Israeli participation in the Joint Strike Fighter program.
Officials said Prime Minister Ariel Sharon sought to resolve the crisis during his visit to the United States in late May. They said a week after Sharon's return, the United States informed Israel that it had been suspended from the JSF program.
In 2005, the administration began holding up arms deliveries to Israel, such as night-vision systems, and delayed a scheduled strategic cooperation session. Officials said the U.S. Army has stopped relaying information on a project to develop the Hunter-2 UAV, based on an Israeli-supplied platform. Northrop Grumman has been the prime contractor of the project for the U.S. Army.
The Pentagon has also refused to engage with three Israeli defense officials. They were identified as Defense Ministry director-general Amos Yaron, head of the ministry's New York-based procurement division Yekutiel Mor, and Sibat arms export chief Yossi Ben-Hanan. These officials were said to have been responsible for Israel's defense relationship with China.
Israeli defense sources said the Defense Ministry has responded to all of the Pentagon requests and still envisions an MoU by August 2005. But they acknowledged ministry opposition to the U.S. demands for increased transparency of arms deals and the dismissal of the three officials.
"The Defense Ministry is holding discreet and pertinent talks with the United States to solve the misunderstandings, which it does not believe need to make public," an Israeli Defense Ministry statement said.
Looks like Israel thought we were bluffing.
Big mistake.
USS Pueblo a ship similar to the USS Liberty was captured by the N.Koreans and the crew tortured while LBJ and McNamara did nothing.
LBJ and McNamara were two screwballs that sent the USS Liberty to spy on Israel and did not give it protection.
Israel has a very skwewd sense of who its enemies are.
China is not anti-semetic, and does not support any anti-Israel group. That makes them kosher. What Israel does not realise is that these same technologies will be sold by the Chicoms to Syria/Iran/Pakistan and that is when this huge greed for money (they have to sustain their Military-Industrial complex) is gonna bite them in the ass.
Shalom,
eki.
I've been among the most vocal pro-Israel folks here. I still feel that the Palis are an Arab non-entity that is squatting on Holy Land, and should be moved to the other side of the Jordan River as originally decreed.
Like I say, if it's true, cut them off. Our government knows regardless of which news "agency" reports it.
This is the problem with having a large military-industrial complex. All these people need to sell to be fed.
How does trade with China benefit reformists?
And are these reformist reliable?
What about the US economy?
It is dangerous either way to allow China to have such a grip over a economy.
Generally I'm a strong supporter of Israel, but selling arms to China is incedibly short sighted. Given the hatred directed at them by many across the world it makes little sense to supply arsenals to those that would turn against them if the U.S. was out of the picture.
Why, because YOU said so? This has been brewing for months now.
Apparently they are still riding the wave of the Clinton administration. They need to stop selling high tech weapons systems just as much for their own security as for the US and its allies. The Reds will recycle this technology and supply it to Israel's enemies. Duh!
I am rather concerned about the heating "anti-Americanism" regarding this topic.
Ditto.
BTW, I don't trust the Bush Admin. when it comes to Israel. I will be keeping a close eye on them, and so should you (if you support Israel). Bush I, btw, was very anti-Israel.
http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=44552
They're just comanches with better weapons. All that's needed is the right decision and the Pali problem ends. It will involve some deaths - of some of the nastiest people in the world.
For someone who acts as if they know nothing, I don’t like your attitude. Funny how the net does that to some. You figure it out.
I find this source article fairly suspect.
Yes,because I said so,I am omniscient,omnipotent and all seeing.
Shortsighted is being generous. Who does China sell weapons to? Let's see: Syria, Iran, Lebanon, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan...............
At first, when the IAF was upgrading MiG21s and the IDF was upgrading T-72s it seemed like no big deal. But having the IDF as part of the JSF and ABL is going too far. We don't even allow Britain all of the access to the technology for the JSF - yet we share nuclear warheads and submarines. That speaks volumes.
LOL - I stand corrected. (Good one!)
Here is another reason to keep a close eye on how our political leaders deal with Israel. The Bible declares that someday EVERY nation (including the US, if we are still around) will be gathered against Israel:
“I will gather all nations [surely all includes America] against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken….Then shall the Lord go forth, and fight against those nations…” (Zech 12:9; 14:2-4).
I'd hate to be the generation that allows the US or any other nation to gather against God's chosen people!
http://www.thebereancall.org/Newsletters/2005+Newsletters/101391.aspx
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