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VI
ENNISME
THE JEWISH NEWS
84
Friday, August 8, 1986
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
Israeli Chief Of Staff Moshe Levi
Is In On Top U.S. Security Talks
he Israeli Chief of Staff,
Lt. Gen. Moshe Levi, says
that the Jonathan Jay
Pollard spy scandal came up
once "and only in passing" dur-
ing his talks at the Pentagon
recently.
Meeting with reporters at a
military guest house on this
sprawling U.S. army base in Ft.
Myer, Virginia, just outside
Washington, Levi said that one
American official had expressed
the opinion that the Pollard
affair would not overly damage
U.S7Israeli relations.
Levi, on his second visit to the
United States since becoming
Chief of Staff, refused to identify
the U.S. official who had raised
the sensitive subject. Levi in-
sisted that the Pollard matter
did not come up in any other
talks with ranking American
civilian and military officials.
In fact, Levi pointedly noted
that his American counterpart,
Admiral William Crowe, the
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of
Staff, had invited him to par-
ticipate in a highly classified
national security briefing at the
Pentagon It was unusual for a -
foreigner to attend such ses-
sions, he said.
Levi said he was impressed by
the high caliber of intelligence
put foward during that briefing,
which focused on the latest
developments around the world.
The Lt. Gen., responding to
questions posed by reporters,
conceded that U.S.Israeli in-
telligence cooperation had suf-
fered a setback last November
when Pollard was first arrested
outside the Israeli Embassy in
Washington. But since then,
Levi said, the strategic coopera-
tion has returned to normal.
Admiral Crowe was Levi's
guest in Israel last January;
shortly after being named Chair-
man of the Joint Chiefs. At that
time Levi brought Crowe to his
home at Kibbutz Bet Alpha. "I
wanted him to see what a kib-
butz really was," recalled Levi.
On July 7, Crowe reciprocated
by welcoming Levi to his home
for breakfast and an early round
of talks on U.S7Israeli military
relations.
Later in the day, Levi attend-
ed the Defense Intelligence
Agency briefing and held sep-
arate meetings with Deputy
Defense Secretary William Taft,
Secretary of the Navy John
Lehman, Deputy Secretary of
State Michael Armacost, Assis-
tant Secretary of Defense
Richard Armitage, and the
respective commanders of the
Army, Navy and Air Force.
The Israeli general then left
Washington for a week-long tour
of U.S. military facilities around
the country, including a sub-
marine base in Norfolk, Virginia,
and a Strategic Air Command
base in New Mexico. Before
returning to Israel, he is also
scheduled to meet with the Con-
ference of Presidents of Major
T
.
American Jewish Organizations
in New York.
Levi said that during his first
visit to the United States two
years ago, he spent most of his
time reviewing U.S. military
matters directly related to
Israel's needs. On this second
trip, however, he has decided to
focus more on the unique mil-
itary needs of a nuclear super-
power — matters not directly
related to Israel's more limited
and conventional requirements.
Levi said he had did not come
to. Washington to discuss any
specific issues with the Amer-
icans, such as the continuing
controversy over Israel's devel-
opment of the Lavi jet fighter.
But he disclosed that the matter
did come up and that Americans
had promised to accelerate their
A Heritage
Foundation study
wants the U.S. to
"integrate Israel
discreetly into the
global anti-Soviet
defense system . ."
current feasibility study aimed
at providing Israel with some
possible alternatives to the Lavi.
These proposals will be pre-
sented to Israel by September,
Levi said.
The Pentagon's chief expert on
the Lavi, Assistant Deputy
Secretary Dov Zakheim, attend-
ed some of the sessions with
Levi.
U.S. officials are considering
an arrangement whereby Israel
might co-produce a modified ver-
sion of the F-16, including Lavi
related avionics, as a possible
replacement to the Israeli plane.
Levi, during his session with
the press, reiterated his opinion
that Israel should move ahead
with the Lavi as a national
priority.
He said that Israel was cur-
rently completing a new multi-
year defense plan which would
be presented to the United
States.
There was also a general
review of the military situation
in the region, including a discus-
sion on international terrorism.
He praised the U.S. decision to
bomb Libyan terrorist targets
two months ago, insisting that
it has had a positive effect in
stemming Libyan-sponsored
terrorism.
Asked about the suspected
Syrian involvement in the most
recent attempt to bomb an El Al.
airliner in Madrid, Levi linked
the incident to Abu Musa, the
pro-Syrian PLO official. He said
that Abu Musa's forces have
freedom of action in Syria but it
was still unclear whether the
Madrid incident was directly
organized by the Syrian govern-
ment — as was the earlier unsuc-
cessful attempt to bomb an El
Al airliner in London.
"Certainly, the Syrians to the
least create an atmosphere
which promotes such incidents,"
Levi said.
Joining Levi at the meetings
was the Israeli Embassy's new
military attache, Gen. Amos
Yaron, who was reprimanded by
the Kahan Commission's report
on the Sabra and Shatila massa-
cres in September 1982. The
Kahan report recommended that
Yaron, who had served as com-
mander of the Israeli Forces in
Beirut during the massacres, be
denied a command position for
three years. Still, he was sub-
sequently appointed to head the
manpower branch and was later
promoted to General. But he
was denied a regional command
and, as a result, accepted the
Washington appointment. He
replaces Gen. Uri Simchoni, who
is returning to Israel. Simchoni
has just received a U.S. medal
from the Pentagon reserved for
foreign military attaches who
have served in a distinguished
manner in Washington.
Coincidentally, Levi's visit
came just as a a new study on
U.S:Israeli military relations was
released by the Heritage Foun-
dation, an influential Washing-
ton "think tank" closely asso-
ciated with Republican con-
servatives.
The United States, it recom-
mended, should "integrate Is-
rael discreetly into the global
anti-Soviet defense system to
strengthen deterrence of the
Soviet Union in the strategic
area between NATO's southern
flank and the Persian Gulf."
The 12-page study suggested
that the U.S. and Israel should
"secretly" draw up joint con-
tingency plans "to keep Moscow
and its regional allies guessing
about the extent to which Israel
is willing to commit itself to con-
taining Soviet aggression in a
crisis."
"The eastern Mediterranean
region should be the focus of
such joint contingency planning
because Israel's vital interests
and greatest capabilities vis-a-
vis • the Soviets are centered
there," it said.
An active Israeli role in Per-
sian Gulf contingencies, on the
other hand, should be minimiz-
ed "to ease Arab anxieties about
Israeli involvement and Israeli
anxieties about being drawn into
conflicts in areas outside the
bounds of its vital interests."
The Heritage study referred to
the November 1981 and Novem-
ber 1983 U.S:Israeli agreements
designed to strengthen strategic
cooperation. In 1983, the two
countries established their Joint
Political Military Group, a
forum which meets regularly to
review common threats posed by
the Soviet Union and its clients.
But the Heritage study urged
the Reagan Administration and
Israel to go beyond that existing
framework.