Gates in Israel for talks on Iran and jet fighters
Friday, July 24, 2009 E-Mail this story Free Headline Alerts
WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Robert Gates was scheduled to arrive in Israel on July 27 for his first visit under the Obama administration.
Talks are expected to address the new U.S. policy on Iran's nuclear program, missile defense and the U.S. jet fighter programs including the advanced Joint Strike Fighter.
Gates was scheduled to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barack in a visit that would last several hours. Officials said no announcements were expected on strategy or weapons deals.
"We're talking about the threats and challenges that we see in the region," an official said. "There are a lot of continuing discussions — on missile defense on the Joint Strike Fighter — that I'm sure will come up."
Gates was expected to review U.S. policy on Iran's nuclear program during his trip to Israel. The official said Israel would be asked to remain patient as the Obama administration attempts to engage Iran over the next few months.
"The president has been pretty clear that they have until the latter part of September to respond to our overtures, and they have until the end of the year to show progress on that," the official said.
Gates's visit was preceded by that of U.S. Air Force commander Gen. Norton Schwartz. Schwartz, guest of Israel Air Force commander Maj. Gen. Ido Nehushtan, toured military bases and was briefed on threats to the Jewish state. Nehushtan and Schwartz were also said to have discussed the JSF project.
This marked the first visit by Gates to Israel under the Obama administration. Israeli officials have reported a significant downgrading of the strategic dialogue with Washington during the first six months of Obama's presidency.
Gates, scheduled to also visit Jordan, was also expected to be briefed on Israeli military requirements. They said the Defense Ministry has been waiting for U.S. approval of a range of Israeli weapons requests, including the AH-64D Apache Longbow attack helicopters.
"Gates will push Israel to take the F-35 as is without any Israeli subsystems or access to core software," a diplomatic source familiar with the visit said. "Gates also wants Israel to promote JSF in Congress."
The source said Gates would press Israel to inform Congress that the air force was not interested in the F-22 fighter-jet, something strongly opposed by the administration. In contrast, Congress has encouraged Israel to request the F-22 in an attempt to maintain the assembly line for the U.S. Air Force.
Congress has approved $2.4 billion in military aid to Israel for fiscal 2010. But the Obama administration has not yet approved any Israeli weapons requests or contracts for delivery of weapons and equipment during 2009.
The Defense Ministry has been preparing for the prospect that the United States would sharply reduce military aid to Israel. The ministry held several meetings in 2009 on the subject, the latest of which took place on July 21.