A leading American military authority expects expanded strategic military cooperation between the United States and Israel to benefit both countries.
Returning from a mission of 13 retired American generals and admirals to Israel, Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Harry Kinnard, former commander of the U.S. Army Development Command, said that the Jewish State would contribute combat expertise and experience and the U.S. its global view.
He pointed out that although “the Israelis are very, very good at some things … we’ve had worldwide experience and I think we can still teach the Israelis a great deal.”
Lt. Gen. (Ret.) William Nelson, former commander of the 12th Air Force, said that he welcomed the joint training of American and Israeli combat pilots.
In similar vein, retired Admiral Maurice “Mickey” Weisner, former U.S. Navy commander in chief, U.S. Pacific Fleet, said that “there’s been a substantial exchange of information on tactics and procedures, how we go about the various parts of warfare.”
DIFFERENT NAVAL MISSIONS NOTED
Weisner contrasted the different naval missions of the fleets of each nation, observing “Israel has hundreds of kilometers of coastline to protect and must protect its commerce as well, while the U.S. Navy has a world role and different goals.” He added, however, that “they can cooperate and exchange information.”
Emphasizing that the extent and means of increased strategic cooperation remain to be worked out, the American officers anticipated that a great deal of progress in this area will be made at a joint U.S.-Israeli military political meeting scheduled to assemble in Washington, in January.
In a press conference in Tel Aviv following a visit to the Rambam Hospital in Haifa, Israel’s noted burn and trauma center for combat wounds, the American military men said they were convinced that the hospital was capable of caring for burn casualties resulting from the October bombing of the marine headquarters in Beirut and did not know why the victims were not flown there for treatment.
Members of the group said that they plan to share what they had learned with American political and military leaders and that they expect to lecture about their findings and impressions at schools, churches and fraternal groups.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
