 |
Dr. Aaron Lerner is co-founder of , Independent Media Review and Analysis, an Israel-based news organization which provides an extensive digest of media, polls and significant interviews and events relating to the Israeli-Arab conflict.
|
|
|
|
By Dr. Aaron Lerner
May 21, 2005
If Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's visit next week goes according to the script that appears to have been prepared he will have frittered away an important opportunity to set an agenda for Israel's American supporters during this crucial period.
Diplomatic verbiage notwithstanding, Israel is extremely concerned about the negative role Egypt is playing today. Egypt is now the primary source of weapons for the Palestinian terrorists, with everything from bullets to anti-aircraft missiles passing under its watchful eyes. Washington praises Egypt for sending security advisors to Gaza but the unfortunate truth is that Egypt's major contribution so far has been to order Palestinian Authority (PA) security officials to treat Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists with kid gloves.
Israel's ability to maintain the security envelope around the Gaza Strip after the retreat is on a collision course with the internationally financed construction of the Gaza Port -- an enormous project whose progress has yet to be tied to the establishment of a workable, effective and irrevocable security screening regimen to assure that the port does not become a conduit for weapons.
While Israel's right to self defense is recognized in theory, there continue to be signs that Washington, in practice, would prefer that the Jewish State take its lumps rather than protect its citizens. Consider recent American calls for "all parties" to show restraint after Israel, in the absence of serious PA efforts to stop the militiamen, defended itself.
Israeli-American relations are also a concern, in particular the continued fallout over disputed Israeli-China deals. This is impacting American-Israeli weapons projects and Israeli participation in the F-35 project. In fact, unless there is a policy change, the F-35's that will be utimately offered to Israel won't have interfaces to allow Israel to integrate its own various systems to give the Israeli F-35s an edge over the F-35s her Arab neighbors will be offered. Just recently Israel got a stinging reminder of the consequences of being denied an interface when the first batch of US-built 80 F-16 "Block 60" fighters equipped with a superior
radar system landed in Abu Dhabi. If the Israeli F-16's had been supplied with an interface for Israeli radar the UAE's technological advantage could be ultimately offset. Instead Israel finds itself with F-16's that are permanently inferior to those now flying for the UAE.
These and other important concerns and issues should be brought to the attention of Mr. Sharon's American audiences.
Unfortunately, it would appear that Prime Minister Sharon not only won't raise these matters in his meetings in America -- he and his team, ever eager to march on with the retreat, will also continue to push them aside back home.
Views expressed by the author do not
necessarily reflect those of israelinsider.
 
|
|
|
|
Click on the blue headline to read a Talkback comment and respond to it. Click on the  icon to send a private email to the talkback writer. The icon appears only if the writer has decided to be contacted. If no popup window appears, please make sure your popup blocker allows israelinsider.com.
|
|
| |
|
|
