The Evolution of Strategic Cooperation

by Mitchell G. Bard

In 1952, Gen. Omar Bradley, head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff,believed the West required 19 divisions to defend the Middle East andthat Israel could supply two. He also expected only three states toprovide the West air power in Middle Eastern defense by 1955: GreatBritain, Turkey and Israel. Bradley's analysis was rejected becausethe political echelon decided it was more important for the UnitedStates to work with Egypt, and later Iraq. It was feared thatintegration of Israeli forces in Western strategy would alienate theArabs.

Israel's crushing victory over the combined Arab forces in 1967caused this view to be revised. The following year, the United States soldIsrael sophisticated planes (Phantom jets) for the first time.Washington shifted its Middle East policy from seeking a balance offorces to ensuring Israel enjoyed a qualitativeedge over its enemies.

Israel proved its value in 1970 when the United States asked forhelp in bolstering King Hussein'sregime. Israel's willingness to aid Amman, and movement of troops tothe Jordanian border, persuaded Syriato withdraw the tanks it had sent into Jordanto support PLO forces duringBlack September. In addition, the Soviets knew that all the squadronleaders of the Sixth Fleet landed in Israel to coordinate activities.

Also, by the early 1970s, it had become clear that no Arab statecould or would contribute to Western defense in the Middle East. The BaghdadPact had long ago expired, and the regimes friendly to the UnitedStates were weak reeds in the region compared to the anti-Westernforces in Egypt, Syria and Iraq. Even after Egypt's reorientationfollowing the signing of its peacetreaty with Israel, the United States did not count on any Arabgovernment for military assistance.

The Carter Administration began to implement a form of strategiccooperation (it was not referred to as such) by making Israeleligible to sell military equipment to the United States. Thewillingness to engage in limited, joint military endeavors was viewedby President Carter as a means of rewarding Israel for "goodbehavior" in peace talks with Egypt.

Though still reluctant to formalize the relationship, strategiccooperation became a major focus of the U.S.-Israel relationship whenRonald Reagan entered office. Before his election, Reagan had written:"Only by full appreciation of the critical role the State ofIsrael plays in our strategic calculus can we build the foundation forthwarting Moscow's designs on territories and resources vital to oursecurity and our national well-being."

Reagan's view culminated in the November 30, 1981, signing of a Memorandumof Understanding on "strategic cooperation." On November29, 1983, a new agreement was signed creating the JointPolitical-Military Group (JPMG) and a group to oversee securityassistance, the Joint Security Assistance Planning Group (JSAP).

The JPMG was originally designed to discuss means of counteringthreats posed by increased Soviet involvement in the Middle East. Ithas placed increasing emphasis, however, on bilateral concerns aboutthe proliferation of chemical weapons and ballistic missiles.

The JSAP was formed in response to Israel's economic crisis in themid­1980s. It is a binational group that meets annually in Washingtonto examine Israel's current and future military procurementrequirements. It also formulates plans for the allocation of U.S.Foreign Military Sales credits in light of current threat assessmentsand U.S. budgetary capabilities.

An example of cooperation between the branches occurred January 23,1987, when Congress designated Israel as a major non-NATO ally. Thislaw formally established Israel as an ally, and allowed its industriesto compete equally with NATO countries and other close U.S. allies forcontracts to produce a significant number of defense items.

In April 1988, President Reagan signed anotherMOU encompassing all prior agreements. This agreementinstitutionalized the strategic relationship.

By the end of Reagan's term, the U.S. had prepositioned equipmentin Israel, regularly held joint training exercises, beganco-development of the ArrowAnti-Tactical Ballistic Missile and was engaged in a host of othercooperative military endeavors.

Since then, U.S.-Israel strategic cooperation has continued toevolve. Today, these strategic ties are stronger than ever. To cite afew examples:

• Because of its strategic location and its unquestionablereliability as an ally, the U.S. has found Israel to be an ideal placefor training, maintenance, and prepositioning of material andsupplies.

• More than 300 Department of Defense personnel travel to Israelevery month.

• Joint military exercises are regularly held. Israel has had moreextensive naval exercises with the U.S. than any other country in theMiddle East and has conducted training exchanges with special Americananti­terrorist forces.

• Israel's Haifa port has routinely been declared to be the best andmost cost-effective facility of its kind in the region by senior Navyofficials. Haifa receives approximately 40 U.S. Navy ships each year,hosting thousands of U.S. sailors and Marines.

• Israel also makes other facilities available to the U.S. includinghospitals, training areas, and bombing ranges in the Negev Desert. Andmost importantly, Israel is the only country in the area that the U.S.can truly rely on to provide open and unhindered access to its portsand facilities.

• A Joint Anti-Terrorism Working Group was created.

• A hotline was established between the Pentagon and the IsraeliDefense Ministry.

• A study found that Israel can help the United States in 13 of the21 critical technological areas that the Pentagon has identified asvital to keeping American defenses strong. The U.S. continues to fundthe research and development of Israeli weapons systems and militaryequipment including the Arrow missile, the TacticalHigh Energy Laser, the Barak ship self-defense missile system,Reactive Armor Tiles, Crash-Attenuating Seats, the Have-Nap missileand Unmanned Aerial Vehicles.

• In early 1997, Israel linked up to the U.S. missile warningsatellite system, which will provide Israel with real-time warning ifa missile is launched against it.

The strategic cooperation agreements established Israel as a defacto ally of the United States, institutionalized military tomilitary contacts, sent a message to the Arabs that America was notafraid to risk upsetting them and shifted at least part of the focusof relations with Israel from Congress to the Executive Branch.