“Largest US-Israeli Exercise in History”: US Troops in Israel for Three-Week Missile Defense Drill

By Jason Ditz
Global Research, October 19, 2012
antiwar.com
Region:
Theme:

The first US troops are arriving in Israel today, part of a build-up for what officials are calling the single largest joint US-Israeli military exercise in history, a drill that will last three weeks and include 3,500 US troops in Israel and Europe.

Officials say the drill aims at preparing a multi-front defense against mortar fire, short and long range missiles. The drill was initially planned for earlier this year, but was postponed because of “regional instability.”

At the time the drill was being couched as preparing for a possible Iranian retaliation to an Israeli attack, and there was a belief that the postponement was meant to show US opposition to Israel’s initial ambition to start the war ahead of the US presidential election.

It isn’t clear, however, how “regional instability” is any less of a factor now than it was in January, and if anything regional tensions seem to be worsening as neighboring Syria implodes in an ugly civil war. Still, with military drills more a diplomatic than a strategic matter, the timing may not be so significant.
Articles by: Jason Ditz

Disclaimer: The contents of this article are of sole responsibility of the author(s). The Centre for Research on Globalization will not be responsible for any inaccurate or incorrect statement in this article. The Centre of Research on Globalization grants permission to cross-post Global Research articles on community internet sites as long the source and copyright are acknowledged together with a hyperlink to the original Global Research article. For publication of Global Research articles in print or other forms including commercial internet sites, contact: [email protected]

www.globalresearch.ca contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available to our readers under the provisions of "fair use" in an effort to advance a better understanding of political, economic and social issues. The material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving it for research and educational purposes. If you wish to use copyrighted material for purposes other than "fair use" you must request permission from the copyright owner.

For media inquiries: [email protected]