Israel’s Maariv newspaper is reporting today that the US and Israeli security establishments are in an angry row over a mulit-billion dollar arms deal the US is finalizing with Saudi Arabia. Israel is reportedly concerned that US plans to sell Saudia Arabia GPS-guided smart bombs, of the sort Israel used during the Lebanon War, will undermine Israel’s qualitative advantage over its Arab enemies. Israel threatened to mobilize AIPAC if the US went ahead with the deal, according to newspaper:
Israeli officials disagreed on the response it should make to the US on this issue. Political officials said that a crisis should not be created with the Americans over this and that “the security establishment should remember the hand that feeds it and the rope should not be pulled too tight with the Americans.” In reality, the opposite approach was taken:
Israel announced its firm opposition to the deal and threaten to employ the powerful Israeli lobby in Congress in order to thwart it. The Americans were angry. Washington has recently delayed Israel’s return to the Joint Strike Fighter project.
Israel is one of 10 nations participating with the US in the development of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter project.
1 response so far ↓
1 Gino // Jun 6, 2008 at 9:27 pm
George W. Bush became first American President who shed on light the Israel and USA relatio0nship as a country within country. Jewish Lobbysts ( AIPAC ) is the real party that choose finalloy Ameriican President and not the American people. I wonder why presidential candidate stood in frontg of AIPAC as a student on final exame . Is that an american Democracy.
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