JINSA Highlights Increases in U.S.- Israel Security Cooperation under Obama

David Streeter — September 1, 2011 – 3:54 pm | Barack Obama | Foreign Policy | Israel | Military Comments (0) Add a comment

The Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs (JINSA) posted an article that highlighted the increases in security cooperation between the United States and Israel under the Obama Administration.

Highlights from JINSA’s article include:

Austere Challenge - U.S. Army and IDF Joint Exercise

The U.S. Army, seeking to increase cooperation with the IDF, will hold one of the largest joint exercises in the two nations’ history in 2012….

Austere Challenge will be the largest joint exercise between the two forces ever held and will feature the establishment of American command posts in Israel and IDF command posts at EUCOM headquarters in Germany. It was reported that the ultimate goal of the exercise would be to allow for the establishing of joint task forces in the event of a future large-scale conflict in the Middle East. “We are looking to increase relations and to expand training,” Hertling told the Post following a meeting with Maj. Gen. Sami Turgeman, commander of IDF Ground Forces Command

Juniper Cobra Strikes Again - Joint Missile Defense Grows

EUCOM will carry out in Israel the Juniper Cobra joint missile defense exercise, a nearly annual event last held in October 2009. The exercise will allow U.S. and Israeli crews to better coordinate their efforts and further integrate their systems. The exercise gains more importance with each passing year as Iran continues its march toward nuclear weapons production.

The Israeli Air Force’s Air Defense Division, the United States Missile Defense Agency and EUCOM have held the Juniper Cobra exercise for the past five years. The 2012 iteration, planned to be one of the most complex and extensive yet, will include Israel’s Arrow 2 and Iron Dome systems as well as the U.S. Army’s Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system and the U.S. Navy’s ship-based Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System. The exercise is expected to include the actual launching of interceptors from these systems at target missiles.

U.S. and Israel Protecting the Region

In June, Lieutenant General Patrick J. O’Reilly, Director for the Pentagon’s Missile Defense Agency, said that the multi-layered defense system being developed by Israel - comprised of Iron Dome and Magic Wand systems on the lower levels and the Arrow 2 and Arrow 3 systems on the atmospheric level and above - will strengthen the ability of the United States to protect its forces in the Middle East, according to Ha’aretz….

”Juniper Cobra shows us how to defend not only with Israeli assets but also with American assets,” Arieh Herzog, head of the Defense Ministry’s Missile Defense Agency, said on July 25 at the 2nd Annual Israel Multinational Missile Defense Conference near Tel Aviv, according to the Post.

Frank A. Rose, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Space and Defense Policy, told conference attendees that the Pentagon planned to deploy a second Aegis missile defense ship in the Mediterranean Sea alongside the cruiser USS Monterey (CG-61), which is already deployed in the region….

“Together we can work to protect what our adversaries would put at risk, both now and in the future,” Rose continued. “Our mutual commitment to cooperation on missile defense research and development, on deploying proven technologies and weapon systems such as the Arrow, and on gaining operational experience through joint exercises and training, will go far in enhancing Israeli security and our mutual interests, and in further cementing and expanding our partnership.”

Click here to read JINSA’s full article.

Click here to learn about more actions taken by President Barack Obama to secure Israel. 

 

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