"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.
