SPEAKING FREELY More US ears in Israel
By Ardeshir Ommani
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At a cost of US$89 million to the American taxpayers, the US Senate, with no
hesitation, passed a bill that was attached by Republican Senator Joe Kyle, to
the federal defense budget to deploy another sophisticated long-range radar
system to Israel.
What was the rush that the US military amid the country's financial and
economic crisis had to speed up the deployment of a most powerful and therefore
expensive system, called AN/TPY-2 forward-based X-band, a year earlier than it
was scheduled previously? The X-band system, deployed to Israel on September
26, was originally scheduled for delivery in 2009 for joint training exercises,
according to the US European Command mission (EUCOM).
For reasons not explained by the US Senate Intelligence Committee, the
ownership of Army/Navy Transportable Radar Surveillance remains with Washington
and will be installed and operated permanently by 120 US military personnel
drawn from US units stationed in Germany and across the rest of Europe.
The well-revealed secret of this rush delivery of the X-band radar system lies
in the fact that the US has finally come to the realization that with two
active wars in Iraq and Afghanistan at hand and an explosive situation in
Pakistan, with an 170 million population and a large atomic arsenal, not to
mention the ever-deepening financial and economic stranglehold threatening not
only the housing but also the banking and industrial sectors of the Western
capitalist economies, it has, though unwillingly, resigned itself to taking the
war-on-Iran option off the table and beginning a dialogue with an ever-stronger
and confident Tehran.
It is also a well-known fact that the US is quietly engaged in preliminary
fact-finding talks with Iran. This has become a huge source of anxiety for the
leaders in Tel Aviv who feel abandoned by Washington or cheaply sold for the
benefit of the US. The delivery of an important element of the US Ballistic
Missile Defense Shield to Israel a year ahead of schedule goes some way in
relaxing the sense of anxiety and desperation with regard to the current
US-Iran dialogue and could be considered compensation for Israel's loss of its
junior role in shaping American foreign policy in the Middle East region.
The radar is to be installed at Israel's Nevatim Air Base1 in the Negev desert
in the south of the country, making it the first time that US Army personnel
will be permanently stationed in Israel. The type of X-band radar proposed by
the US Army works on the same wavelength as a microwave oven. Its tremendous
power gives it impressive precision and velocity. It can locate an object the
size of a baseball 2,900 miles (4,700 kilometers) away.
The X-based radar is designed to track ballistic missile warheads moving
through space and provide ground-based missiles with the data needed to
intercept them. But serious concerns have been raised for the safety of the
communities living near the radar. For example, in the Czech Republic, where a
similar type of radar is planned to be installed, 60% of the population remains
opposed to the US project, many due to public health concerns.
According to the Sydney Morning Herald, the radar would serve not only Israel,
but also the US military forces in the hemisphere. The radar will be integrated
with both the Israeli and the US Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) networks. It
is prudent for US citizens to know that prior to the present $89 million gift
of radar to Israel, according to stratfor.com, "The now-operational Israeli
Arrow Ballistic Missile System (BMD) in all likelihood would not have been
possible without US assistance and aid."
On one hand, the link between Israel's currently operational Arrow Missiles
through the medium of the X-band radar with the US offense and defensive
missile system suggests a broad integration of missile defense shields of the
two countries. On the other hand, the fact that the US deployed the new radar
in separate parts and under the radar shows that the US gave lip-service to
Iran, trying to avoid antagonizing it at a time with which it is engaged in
complex negotiations.
As to the needs, uses and introduction of such radar systems into the Middle
East, various scenarios have already been advanced by the US and Israeli
sources, some of which are misleading. For example, one story depicts the
installation of the radar system and the permanent presence of its American
crews as intended to restrain Israel from taking a unilateral military attack
against the Iranian nuclear facilities and military establishment. The converse
scenario, mostly sponsored by pro-Israel mouthpieces argue that the system is
intended to strengthen Israel's defensive ability against Iranian retaliation
should Israel or the US decide to attack Iran.
The last and most plausible scenario is that the US intends to add one more
strategic military base to the other 1,000 military bases that it operates
around the world for containing and intimidating independent countries in the
region like Iran, Syria and Lebanon.
An underground strategic air command post is reportedly located at Nevatim Air
Base. Located southeast of Beersheba on the edge of the Negev, this facility
was originally built in 1947 as landing strip known as Malhata.
In September 1978, Israeli and Egyptian negotiators met with former US
president Jimmy Carter at Camp David to negotiate the terms of peace. An
agreement was signed in March 1979 which called for the phased withdrawal of
all Israeli troops from the Sinai by 1982. The Camp David Accords were matched
by American pledges for security assistance for both Israel and Egypt totaling
nearly $3 billion. A new airbase, planned and built by Israel with US funding
opened October 1983 with two runways - 3,050 meters and 2,440 meters in length.
Three of the IDF's key air bases - Ramat David, Tel Nof and Nevatim - are all
located close to the pre-1967 ceasefire lines, known as the "Green Line".
In July 1998, it was reported that Turkish warplanes are based at Nevatim on a
regular basis as part of an agreement between Turkey and Israel. In return,
Israeli jets are based in Turkey. The Elrom Company has prepared a study
examining the possibility of establishing a second international airport for
Israel at Nevatim. An unusual coalition of mayors and citizens of the Dan
metropolitan area and the Negev has been formed to lobby for developing
Nevatim.
Tens of F-16 fighter jets, originating from a base in the south of the country,
landed March 31, 2003, at the Nevatim Air Force base. A ceremony for the
transfer of the squadron was held in the presence of the Commander of the
Israeli Air Force, Major General Dan Halutz. The new squadron will be known as
the "Flying Wing".
A decade earlier, the Israeli Defense Forces chain of command raised the
question of whether or not to close the base at Nevatim as a result of
budgetary woes. However, with reception of the new squadron and additional
changes in the offing, Nevatim has been transformed into one of largest bases
in the country. In June 2003, an additional squadron of F-16's arrived at the
base, and plans have been made to receive transport planes. F-16's were
introduced to the Israeli Air Force in 1980, and serve as the backbone of the
Israeli Air Force. A year after their arrival, the planes were deployed to bomb
the Iraqi nuclear reactor. Several of the planes that were moved participated
in the attack.
Ardeshir Ommani has been a writer and activist in the anti-war and
anti-imperialist struggle for many years, including against the Vietnam War.
Ardeshir is a co-founder of the American-Iranian Friendship Committee (AIFC)
which strives to build a movement promoting peace and preventing a US-led war
on Iran. Ardeshir helped launch the successful www.StopWarOnIran.org campaign,
the very first Iran Internet anti-war campaign. Contact info: Ardeshiromm@optonline.net
(Copyright 2008 Ardeshir Ommani.)
Speaking Freely is an Asia Times Online feature that allows guest writers to have
their say.
Please click hereif you are interested in contributing.
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