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U.S. boosts military contacts with Israel
The United States is raising the level of its military coordination with Israel in advance of its expected war against Iraq. Next week, General Charles Wald, deputy commander of the U.S. European Command (USEUCOM), will visit here. Wald, who is in charge of ties with the Israel Defense Forces, will meet with Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz and senior IDF officers. He will apparently also visit the American soldiers who came to Israel with the Patriot missile batteries. Wald took over as deputy head of USEUCOM just last month, and his trip to Israel is being billed as a get-acquainted visit. Israeli sources, however, predict the talks will focus on the expected war with Iraq. "Our strategic coordination with the Americans is at a much higher level than it was during the 1991 Gulf War," a senior security source said. Wald, a fighter pilot who saw action in both Vietnam and Iraq, is also considered the acting commander of USEUCOM, which has responsibility for Israel. In the U.S. military hierarchy, the official commander of USEUCOM is also the head of NATO's military forces and thus spends most of his time running the NATO command in Brussels. Wald is familiar with the Middle East having served as commander of Central Command's air forces in the late 1990s. Central Command is responsible for the Gulf states. Wald's visit will follow hard on the heels of that of Gen. Charles Simpson, who left the country on Wednesday. Simpson, the director of air and space operations at USEUCOM, has been appointed chief liaison officer with Israel in the event of a war with Iraq. Simpson met with Deputy Chief of Staff Maj. Gen. Gaby Ashkenazy and other senior officers to set up working procedures for coordination in the event of a war. Other members of the American liaison unit who came with Simpson are staying here to set up a system of communications between the IDF and the Pentagon. In addition, there are currently 600 American soldiers stationed here to man the two Patriot batteries that came to participate in an air defense exercise, Juniper Cobra 3, with the IDF's antimissile batteries. The New York Times reported yesterday that the Patriot batteries will remain here at least through mid-February.. They'll be there until the shooting stops. The Israel Navy and the American Sixth Fleet also conducted a joint naval exercise this week Posted by: Steve 2003-01-17 |
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