US Concerned About Challenging “Israel's Might” İn Region

The United States administration maintains that the proliferation of advanced weapons in the Middle East is undisputedly Israel’s right, not anyone else’s.

Some Arab states make multi-billion dollar deals with the US to buy weapons only to stockpile them until they rust; and then they buy more. The US gives Israel weapons as grants, while it sells them to mainly Gulf States on regular basis.

On Monday, US Defense Secretary Robert Gates shared visiting Israeli counterpart Ehud Barak concerns about Russia selling anti-ship cruise missiles to Syria, Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell said. Gates was worried about Syria destabilizing the region by either using these missiles or giving them to Hezbollah in Lebanon.

In 2007, in the wake of Israel’s war on Lebanon and aggressive threats to attack Syria, Damascus signed a deal with Moscow to buy P-800 Yakhnot supersonic cruise missiles. Barak’s visit to Russia this month failed to induce the Russian leadership to cancel the deal with Syria and therefore challenge Israel’s “might” in the region.

In 2006, Israel waged an unprecedented destructive war on Lebanon that lasted for 33 days. Hezbollah surprised Israel by hitting one of its naval vessels (SAAR 5) with a cruise missile. Eventually, Israel admitted defeat in front of Hezbollah fighters, as cited by the Winograd Report. According to Israeli leaders Hezbollah had used relatively modest Russian-made weapons during the war, and therefore, acquiring advanced weapons could thwart any future war on Lebanon and further damage Israel’s “might” in the region.

The US shares the same concerns with Israel. According to Morrell, Gates raised the issue with a Russian delegation visiting the Pentagon last week and asked his Kremlin counterparts to be mindful of the strategic consequences of such sales.

"To our regret, the deal is now proceeding in stages," Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu said, adding that the Syrian missiles were part of the reason behind Israel's recent decision to upgrade its air force with new American F-35 warplanes. "We are dealing with a new arsenal of missiles and rockets and there has to be a military response to that," he told Israeli media.

Israel’s gratis American weapons have been putting more weight on the already cracking economy in the US. To compensate its inevitable losses, and as part of a declared policy to shore up Arab allies against arch foe Iran, Washington struck a $60 billion deal with Saudi Arabia to sell it advanced aircrafts, and it is planning to undergo missile-defense upgrades worth tens of billions of dollars more.

Noteworthy, the United States has rejected arming the Lebanese Armed Forces with advanced defensive weapons fearing they might be used against Israel. Israeli occupation forces killed two Lebanese soldiers and a journalist in the southern border town of Odaysseh two months ago, when occupation troops tried to remove a tree on the Lebanese side under UNFIL eyes. Lebanese army troops also killed an Israeli unit commander in the clash.

The United States is arming Israel and selling weapons to Arab allies. Israel’s enemies are also acquiring weapons from Russia, and maybe from elsewhere.

War in the region is no longer a matter of if, but a matter of when.

According to U.S. intelligence veteran Jeffrey White, “if another Israel-Hezbollah war breaks out it will not resemble the war of the summer of 2006, but will cover much of Lebanon and Israel, and probably also Syria, and is likely to also draw in Iran, involve major military operations, cause significant casualties among combatants and civilians, and destroy infrastructure.”

White’s research published last week by the pro-Israel Washington Institute for Near East Policy suggests that Israel is much better prepared for the next round than it was in 2006 with the aim to impose a fundamental change in the military equilibrium and defeat Hezbollah, although not a "final victory." White adds that the U.S. role will be to deter Iran from becoming involved in support of Lebanon-Syria or in the Persian Gulf.

Al-Manar Staff