Israel, U.S. kick off liaison operations ahead of Iraq war
Aluf Benn Ha'aretz
January 14, 2003

The first members of the American liaison team responsible for coordinating with the Israel Defense Forces in the event of a U.S. war against Iraq arrived in Israel this weekend and moved into the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv.

The newly-arrived unit is responsible for setting up the infrastructure for communication and coordination among the IDF, the Pentagon and any American forces in the area during the expected war with Iraq. For now, its stay has been defined as open-ended.

"As part of our contingency planning, the United States and Israel are enhancing their already-strong liaison and communications channels," an American source said. "As needed, a limited number of U.S. personnel will augment the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv to facilitate this objective."

The U.S. Army's chief liaison officer with the IDF, Major General Charles Simpson, came to Israel with the unit. He has spent the last few days dealing with the American team's internal preparations; and in the coming days, he will meet with Chief of Staff Moshe Ya'alon and other senior IDF officials to work out the liaison procedures.

An Israeli defense source said that the talks with Simpson did not attest to Israeli involvement in the expected war, but were aimed rather at dealing with a situation in which Iraq responded to an American strike by attacking Israel.

Simpson, who is director of air and space operations for the U.S. Air Force in Europe, visited Israel last month with Undersecretary of Defense Doug Feith, meeting with government officials as well as army officers. The current talks, however, will be strictly at the professional level.

The decision to station an American liaison unit here is part of a general decision to "raise the profile" of military cooperation between the two countries in advance of a possible war with Iraq. This week, Israel's air defense command will hold a joint exercise, Juniper Cobra, with the two American Patriot batteries stationed in the Negev, with assistance from the U.S. Sixth Fleet's radar units. In addition, two ships from the Sixth Fleet are participating in an anti-submarine warfare exercise, Noble Dina, with the Israel Navy. Last year, the United States, Israel and Turkey held a joint naval exercise.

All three of the joint exercises were scheduled well in advance, but they are now being integrated into the preparations for a war with Iraq. The exercises "raise the level of preparedness to that of a possible transition from exercise to operational situation," the senior Israeli defense source said. "It's good for the Americans, and good for us as well."

The U.S. Navy has also stationed its newest aircraft carrier, the Harry Truman, in the Mediterranean Sea, at the head of a large task force, after a lengthy period in which the United States refrained from stationing such a force in the region.

The Washington Post reported yesterday that the Americans were considering stationing this naval task force along Israel's coast during a war with Iraq, thereby enabling its planes to reach targets in western Iraq by flying over Israel and Jordan. However, the report noted, it was not yet clear whether the Jordanians would grant the Americans permission to overfly their country.

Source: http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=251633&
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