"Where You Come First"

Detroit Gallery of Contemporary Crafts

,

Kosins

301 Fisher Bldg.

FURNITURE

Uptown
Southfield Rd. at
11 1 /2 Mile • 559-3900

Slow Progress On U.S.,
Israeli Cooperation

WOLF BLITZER

Special to The Jewish News

W

ashington — On the
surface, the en-
hanced and im-
pressive U.S.-Israeli strategic
cooperation of recent years
appears to moving full speed
ahead. Thus, for example, in
January 1987, Israel's status
was formally elevated to that
of a major non-NATO ally.
Others in this category are
Japan, Australia, South
Korea and Egypt.
But behind-the-scenes,
there are disturbing trends.
Israeli officials are worried
about the slow pace of pro-
gress in several key areas.
The Americans say that the
slow progress in moving
ahead with some specific
deals is basically the result of
the overall budget-cutting
needs of the Pentagon, rather
than for any political reasons.
Israeli officials are not
necessarily convinced. They
wonder whether the five
months of Palestinian upris-
ing on the West Bank and
Gaza Strip and the refusal by
the Israeli government to en-
dorse Secretary of State
George Shultz's peace in-
itiative may have resulted in
Washington's most recent ac-
tions in this area.
Thus, there are Israeli-
generated charges that the
Pentagon is not doing enough
to promote the development
of Israel's proposed Arrow
anti-tactical ballistic missile
(ATBM), designed to knock
down incoming Soviet-made,
ground-to-ground missiles.
This concern was under-
scored at a congressiat al
hearing when Democratic
Representative Ted Weiss of
New York, a supporter of
Israel, asked a senior Pen-
tagon official about the status
of the ATBM project. Deputy
Assistant Secretary of
Defense for Near Eastern and
South Asian Affairs Edward
Gnehm denied that the ad-
ministration was stalling.
"We are in the process of
negotiating an MOU (Memor-
andum of Understanding)
with them to go ahead with
demonstrations and to work
out some of the technology
that they've been developing,"
By any standard, there
have been dramatic develop-
ments in U.S.-Israeli military
and strategic cooperation in
recent years. The Heritage
Foundation, a conservative
think tank in Washington
with close ties to the White
House and the Republican

Party establishment, for ex-
ample, cited the October 1983
National Security Decision
Directive, signed by President
Reagan, which established
guidelines for closer U.S.-
Israeli cooperation. A joint
political-military group
(JPMG) was organized to
coordinate U.S.-Israeli mili-
tary exercises, security plan-
ning, and the pre-positioning
of U.S. military equipment in
Israel.

In 1986, the two countries
established a joint security
assistance group (JSAG) to
provide a forum for the dis-
cussion of aid issues. Israel
also accepted America's in-
vitation to participate in the
research and development of
the Strategic Defense In-
itiative along with West Ger-
many, Britain and Italy.
The Heritage statement
also referred to the increase
in Israeli military exports to
the United States. Israeli
military sales to the Pen-
tagon rose from only $9
million in 1983 to $209
million in 1986 and approx-
imately $300 million last
year, it said. "They are ex-
pected to continue climbing
steadily due to Israel's track
record of providing reliable,
battle-tested off-the-shelf
military technology," it said.
Israeli officials, of course,
were delighted by the Pen-
tagon's recent decision to
move ahead with initial con-
tracts in two potentially
lucrative areas. One involves
Soltam, the Israeli firm that
manufactures 120 mm mor-
tars. The other involves
several Israeli companies
developing the Popeye air-to-
ground missile. But Pentagon
budget cuts in all sorts of
related areas have put a cloud
over both projects.
The Heritage document in-
sisted that the budget-cutting
atmosphere in the Pentagon
should actually have the im-
pact of increasing — rather
than decreasing — Israeli
military exports to the U.S.
"At a time when the U.S. is
trimming its defense research
and development," it explain-
ed, "Israel's low-cost, no-frills
approach to weapons produc-
tion appears as an increasing-
ly attractive option:' Israel, it
said, can produce certain
quality weapons more cheap-
ly than the United States.
Israeli officials are con-
cerned about what they say
has been a simulataneous cut
in funding for various other
programs involving U.S.-
Israeli strategic cooperation.

Detroit, MI

Handmade by
American Artists
7Ayft-/—
(f'

Big & Tall
Southfield at
101 /2 Mile • 569-6930

48202

Visit the Garden Cafe, serving from 11 to 3.

SENSATIONAL PRICES
ON RAINWEAR
AND JACKETS!

• Drizzle®
Raincoats

50%-70% Off

• J.G. Hook®

Now $79

• Special Group!
Summer Jackets

Now $29

Sterling Heights • Sterling Place

Oak Park • Lincoln Center •

37680 Van Dyke at 16 1/2 Mile

Greenfield at 101/2 Mile

West Bloomfield • Orchard Mall
Orchard Lake at Maple (15 Mile)

Mon.-Sat. 10-9; Sun. 12-5

Mon: Sat. 10-9; Sun. 12-5

Mora: Fri. 10-9; Sat. 10-6; Sun. 12-5

939-0700

968-2060

855-9955