imra.org.il
"Obama is Deserting Israel in Demilitarization Committee"
As the US pays for its weakness before the Arab world, Israeli officials
claim President Obama is deserting Israel in the committee for nuclear
demilitarization. Also: Why attempts to raise IMI's market value will come
at the expense of other companies
Amir Rapaport 14/9/2012
http://www.israeldefense.com/?CategoryID=483&ArticleID=1645
A new source of tension between Israel and the US: Israel feels that the US
is "deserting" it and is not upholding the promise given by US President
Barack Obama to prevent a situation where a UN committee on Middle Eastern
nuclear demilitarization will also direct demands towards Israel.
This was initially revealed during a seminar on the subject of "the nuclear
understandings with the US: the public dimension." The seminar was held on
Wednesday at the BESA Center for Strategic Studies, with the participation
of the writer of these lines, a researcher at the center, the researcher
Shmuel Meir and Prof. Uzi Arad, former head of the National Security
Council. The background for the new tension is a decision that was already
accepted at a meeting of the review committee for supervising the
implementation of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). The committee
is held every five years, and its last gathering took place at the start of
2010.
In the framework of the review committee's discussions, which lasted for
three weeks, the countries discussed the issue of a middle east without
nuclear weapons and the prevention of nuclear proliferation, among other
things. Pressured by Egypt and other Arab countries, the committee decided
to hold a preparatory meeting towards another gathering to discuss the
demilitarization of the Middle East. Israel was angry that the US did not
foil the decision, in contrast to existing unwritten understandings that
demilitarization would not be required from Israel so long as it does not
publicly disclose its nuclear capabilities. As such, a meeting was held in
Washington on July 8, 2010 between Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu
and US President Barack Obama. At the end of the meeting, historical
understandings were agreed upon, which were even anchored in an official
statement by the White House.
The understandings previously agreed upon in discussions between the head of
Israel's National Security Council, Prof. Uzi Arad, and US National Security
Advisor James Jones, included recognition of Israel's unique defense
situation, and an article determining that the US would ensure weapon
control initiatives would not lessen Israel's defensive strength (Prof. Arad
revealed at the BESA conference that Jones was the one who initiated the
anchoring of the understandings to show how the US stands firmly behind its
defense relations with Israel). President Obama even said that "Israel has
the right to defend itself by itself."
However, it seems that promises are separate from reality. In the past
months, discussions have been taking place, in which Israeli officials (from
the Foreign Ministry, the Prime Minister's Bureau, and the Committee for
Atomic Energy) expressed anger over the fact that the US is not acting to
prevent the gathering of the committee. Despite the presidential promise,
Ban Ki-Moon, General Secretary of the United Nations, announced on October
14, 2011 that Finland would host a conference on the topic of nuclear
demilitarization of the Middle East.
Debates were recently held concerning the precise date on which the
committee will be held, and it is becoming apparent that it will be held at
the start of 2013. A committee calling for Israel’s nuclear demilitarization
at such a timing could, from Israel’s perspective, hurt the global effort to
prevent Iran from attaining nuclear weapons. Israeli officials recently
claimed to their US counterparts that the commitment given on July 2010 was
conclusive and that the US should stand behind it. One of the concerns is
that the current US position, one which does not object to the preparatory
committee being carried out without exempting Israel, also stems from
Washington’s anger towards Israel due to Israel’s unwillingness to commit to
refraining from attacking Iran on its own, without coordinating with the US.
State officials recently said that the issue is affecting the relations
between Jerusalem and Washington, which are already tense. Prof. Uzi Arad
said during the BESA conference that “an unwillingness to meet the
commitment by President Obama will hurt the credibility of the US assurance
to prevent Iran from attaining nuclear weapons – a promise meant to prevent
a unilateral Israeli assault.”
Rockets from IMI
Meanwhile, the efforts to privatize Israel Military Industries (IMI) are
entering a high gear. The Ministries of Defense and Treasury are advancing
in their negotiations with the Histadrut and the employee committee towards
a potential tender for privatizing the company as one business unit
(possible contenders: Elbit Systems and the Sami Katsav Group).
The Ministry of Defense is working to upgrade the company’s value by
increasing its order backlog, but is it doing so at the expense of other
companies? The issue came up throughout the recent days in the wake of the
decision to choose IMI as the supplier of precise rockets for ranges of up
to 40 kilometers, for which the IDF’s Ground Forces have shown an interest.
The defense establishment delivered an order for acquiring rockets by the
end of the year. So far, so good (the commander of the Ground Forces even
declared the intent to acquire the rockets during the Second International
Fire Conference, organized by IsraelDefense last May), however the ministry
called on the defense industries to propose rockets of this precise
specification last year.
Several companies, including Israel Aerospace Industries and Elbit Systems,
considered several options, but to no avail - the ministry is the undisputed
regulator of Israel's defense market, and it chose IMI as the sole supplier.
Who is the deputy?
Who will be the next deputy of the IDF Chief of Staff, Benny Gantz? Last
month, this column revealed that IDF sources raised an eyebrow in light of
the delay of the decision concerning the identity of Major General Yair
Naveh’s replacement. The delay occurred due to the possibility of a
potential conflict with Iran (a likelihood that has decreased, at least
according to the recent public statements by Ehud Barak and Binyamin
Netanyahu) and the wait for the final draft of the State Comptroller’s
report on the “Harpaz affair.”
The draft is expected to be delivered this weekend. Does this mean that the
next deputy will be soon be announced? The candidates are Maj. Gen. Gadi
Shamni, Maj. Gen. Avi Mizrahi and Maj. Gen. Gadi Eizenkot. Eizenkot is
considered as the leading candidate. Does this mean he will get the
position? That remains uncertain. Is it also possible to assess that the
next chief of staff, after Gantz, will be chosen from between the next
deputy and Maj. Gen. Naveh? This remains uncertain as well.
**
The title of naïve saying of the week, perhaps even of the decade, is
reserved for Hillary Clinton, US Secretary of State, who cannot understand
why crowds of Muslims attack US embassies and kill the ambassador in the
Libyan city "that we liberated." Does Clinton not understand that US'
general weakness is shaking the floor under the feet of the empire? It is
possible.
However, this is something that she should have already understood: the
blind US faith in the democratic religion is costing the mother of all
democracies dearly. A reminder: the Americans insisted on holding elections
in the Palestinian Authority, which led to the Hamas ascension in the Gaza
Strip, and was quick to denounce Hosni Mubarak only to get Mohamed Morsi.
Even Khomeini previously saw empathy from former US President Jimmy Carter,
in the name of "the will of the people," and the list of examples of their
historical mistakes is lengthy.
Does this mean that they are learning the lesson? Apparently not. The
renowned US historian Barbara Tuchman, once defined foolishness as "a
mistake persistently repeated with one’s eyes open." The US policy fits that
definition.
As the US pays for its weakness before the Arab world, Israeli officials
claim President Obama is deserting Israel in the committee for nuclear
demilitarization. Also: Why attempts to raise IMI's market value will come
at the expense of other companies
Amir Rapaport 14/9/2012
http://www.israeldefense.com/?CategoryID=483&ArticleID=1645
A new source of tension between Israel and the US: Israel feels that the US
is "deserting" it and is not upholding the promise given by US President
Barack Obama to prevent a situation where a UN committee on Middle Eastern
nuclear demilitarization will also direct demands towards Israel.
This was initially revealed during a seminar on the subject of "the nuclear
understandings with the US: the public dimension." The seminar was held on
Wednesday at the BESA Center for Strategic Studies, with the participation
of the writer of these lines, a researcher at the center, the researcher
Shmuel Meir and Prof. Uzi Arad, former head of the National Security
Council. The background for the new tension is a decision that was already
accepted at a meeting of the review committee for supervising the
implementation of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). The committee
is held every five years, and its last gathering took place at the start of
2010.
In the framework of the review committee's discussions, which lasted for
three weeks, the countries discussed the issue of a middle east without
nuclear weapons and the prevention of nuclear proliferation, among other
things. Pressured by Egypt and other Arab countries, the committee decided
to hold a preparatory meeting towards another gathering to discuss the
demilitarization of the Middle East. Israel was angry that the US did not
foil the decision, in contrast to existing unwritten understandings that
demilitarization would not be required from Israel so long as it does not
publicly disclose its nuclear capabilities. As such, a meeting was held in
Washington on July 8, 2010 between Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu
and US President Barack Obama. At the end of the meeting, historical
understandings were agreed upon, which were even anchored in an official
statement by the White House.
The understandings previously agreed upon in discussions between the head of
Israel's National Security Council, Prof. Uzi Arad, and US National Security
Advisor James Jones, included recognition of Israel's unique defense
situation, and an article determining that the US would ensure weapon
control initiatives would not lessen Israel's defensive strength (Prof. Arad
revealed at the BESA conference that Jones was the one who initiated the
anchoring of the understandings to show how the US stands firmly behind its
defense relations with Israel). President Obama even said that "Israel has
the right to defend itself by itself."
However, it seems that promises are separate from reality. In the past
months, discussions have been taking place, in which Israeli officials (from
the Foreign Ministry, the Prime Minister's Bureau, and the Committee for
Atomic Energy) expressed anger over the fact that the US is not acting to
prevent the gathering of the committee. Despite the presidential promise,
Ban Ki-Moon, General Secretary of the United Nations, announced on October
14, 2011 that Finland would host a conference on the topic of nuclear
demilitarization of the Middle East.
Debates were recently held concerning the precise date on which the
committee will be held, and it is becoming apparent that it will be held at
the start of 2013. A committee calling for Israel’s nuclear demilitarization
at such a timing could, from Israel’s perspective, hurt the global effort to
prevent Iran from attaining nuclear weapons. Israeli officials recently
claimed to their US counterparts that the commitment given on July 2010 was
conclusive and that the US should stand behind it. One of the concerns is
that the current US position, one which does not object to the preparatory
committee being carried out without exempting Israel, also stems from
Washington’s anger towards Israel due to Israel’s unwillingness to commit to
refraining from attacking Iran on its own, without coordinating with the US.
State officials recently said that the issue is affecting the relations
between Jerusalem and Washington, which are already tense. Prof. Uzi Arad
said during the BESA conference that “an unwillingness to meet the
commitment by President Obama will hurt the credibility of the US assurance
to prevent Iran from attaining nuclear weapons – a promise meant to prevent
a unilateral Israeli assault.”
Rockets from IMI
Meanwhile, the efforts to privatize Israel Military Industries (IMI) are
entering a high gear. The Ministries of Defense and Treasury are advancing
in their negotiations with the Histadrut and the employee committee towards
a potential tender for privatizing the company as one business unit
(possible contenders: Elbit Systems and the Sami Katsav Group).
The Ministry of Defense is working to upgrade the company’s value by
increasing its order backlog, but is it doing so at the expense of other
companies? The issue came up throughout the recent days in the wake of the
decision to choose IMI as the supplier of precise rockets for ranges of up
to 40 kilometers, for which the IDF’s Ground Forces have shown an interest.
The defense establishment delivered an order for acquiring rockets by the
end of the year. So far, so good (the commander of the Ground Forces even
declared the intent to acquire the rockets during the Second International
Fire Conference, organized by IsraelDefense last May), however the ministry
called on the defense industries to propose rockets of this precise
specification last year.
Several companies, including Israel Aerospace Industries and Elbit Systems,
considered several options, but to no avail - the ministry is the undisputed
regulator of Israel's defense market, and it chose IMI as the sole supplier.
Who is the deputy?
Who will be the next deputy of the IDF Chief of Staff, Benny Gantz? Last
month, this column revealed that IDF sources raised an eyebrow in light of
the delay of the decision concerning the identity of Major General Yair
Naveh’s replacement. The delay occurred due to the possibility of a
potential conflict with Iran (a likelihood that has decreased, at least
according to the recent public statements by Ehud Barak and Binyamin
Netanyahu) and the wait for the final draft of the State Comptroller’s
report on the “Harpaz affair.”
The draft is expected to be delivered this weekend. Does this mean that the
next deputy will be soon be announced? The candidates are Maj. Gen. Gadi
Shamni, Maj. Gen. Avi Mizrahi and Maj. Gen. Gadi Eizenkot. Eizenkot is
considered as the leading candidate. Does this mean he will get the
position? That remains uncertain. Is it also possible to assess that the
next chief of staff, after Gantz, will be chosen from between the next
deputy and Maj. Gen. Naveh? This remains uncertain as well.
**
The title of naïve saying of the week, perhaps even of the decade, is
reserved for Hillary Clinton, US Secretary of State, who cannot understand
why crowds of Muslims attack US embassies and kill the ambassador in the
Libyan city "that we liberated." Does Clinton not understand that US'
general weakness is shaking the floor under the feet of the empire? It is
possible.
However, this is something that she should have already understood: the
blind US faith in the democratic religion is costing the mother of all
democracies dearly. A reminder: the Americans insisted on holding elections
in the Palestinian Authority, which led to the Hamas ascension in the Gaza
Strip, and was quick to denounce Hosni Mubarak only to get Mohamed Morsi.
Even Khomeini previously saw empathy from former US President Jimmy Carter,
in the name of "the will of the people," and the list of examples of their
historical mistakes is lengthy.
Does this mean that they are learning the lesson? Apparently not. The
renowned US historian Barbara Tuchman, once defined foolishness as "a
mistake persistently repeated with one’s eyes open." The US policy fits that
definition.
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