Special to WorldTribune.com

WASHINGTON — The United States, despite its latest $3 billion arms
package, continues to deny an advanced bunker-buster munition to Israel.

Officials acknowledged that the administration of President Barack Obama
rebuffed at least three Israeli requests for the Massive Ordnance
Penetrator, designed to destroy deep bunkers constructed by Iran and North
Korea.

The officials said the administration concluded that the 30,000-pound
air-to-ground bomb was not feasible for Israel and could escalate regional
tension.

“The Israelis want MOP, but they have not made a sufficient case for
it,” an official said.

Officials said MOP marked the top of Israel’s list during nearly a year
of negotiations between Washington and Jerusalem over how to maintain
Israel’s so-called qualitative military edge. They said the negotiations were led by then-Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak, who shuttled between Tel Aviv and Washington every two weeks to relay requests from his military.

Barak is said to have argued that Israeli procurement of MOP would
help deter Iran and its nuclear weapons program. Officials quoted the
defense minister as asserting that Teheran, backed by an increasingly
powerful military, no longer believed that the Jewish state was capable of a
sustained air strike.

“It seemed that the Israelis, particularly Barak, cared more about the
psychological effect of an MOP announcement even more than the practical
issues of when this would be delivered,” the official said.

But the administration, in a review that reached the White House,
rejected any export of MOP to Israel. Officials said the Defense Department,
including then-Defense Secretary Leon Panetta,
determined that Israel could not deploy MOP on anything other than the
U.S.-origin B-2 bomber, which costs $1 billion. The Israel Air Force has
been based on the far smaller F-16 multi-role fighter.

“Several times in recent weeks, American officials, seeking to
demonstrate U.S. capabilities, showed Israeli military and civilian leaders
secret [U.S.] Air Force video of an earlier version of the bomb hitting its
target in high-altitude testing, and explained what had been done to improve
it, according to diplomats who were present,” the Wall Street Journal
reported on May 3.

“In the video, the weapon can be seen penetrating the
ground within inches of its target, followed by a large underground
detonation, according to people who have seen the footage.”

In the end, Obama agreed to provide Israel with at least two new
aircraft. They were the V-22 Osprey vertical-lift aircraft and the KC-135
air fuel tanker, which officials said could be used in any attack on Iran.

But officials said the administration, as well as several leading
members of Congress, insisted that Israel pledge not to attack Iran without
consultations with Washington. They said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu provided such guarantees during Obama’s visit to the Middle East
in March 2013.

“The platforms that Israel will receive have military importance,
but do not destabilize the region,” another official said.

  Ehud Barak, KC-135 air fuel tanker, Leon Panetta, Massive Ordnance Penetrator, Obama three times denied Israel’s request for bunker-busters, V-22 Osprey