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The Mid-East War Is A Joint Operation: The US...
David Reavill
 October 06 2024 at 01:47 pm
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When Joe Biden met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his war cabinet during his visit to Israel, the U.S. president assured them: “I don’t believe you have to be a Jew to be a Zionist, and I am a Zionist.”* The great irony of the Middle East War is that Americans are presented, almost exclusively, with the Israeli point of view, not the American. Consequently, we learn that Israel invaded Gaza and that it has a limited military operation in Lebanon and with Iran. This jaundiced, Israeli-centric perspective leads us to believe that the United States plays a minimal role in any hostilities. But nothing could be further from reality. Today, we’ll review how America is actively involved in this rapidly escalating regional conflict, which may go global at any moment. Although it has dropped off the headlines, Operation Prosperity Guardian is still very active. You may recall that this was the name that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin gave to American warship’s effort to keep the Red Sea shipping lane open for Israel. For ten months, the United States Navy has been tasked with keeping the Ansar Allah group, also known as the Houthis, from targeting ships headed for the Port of Eilat, one of the four critical Israeli ports. Portrayed as a separate and distinct operation, this is an integral part of the Mid-East War. The Houthis, after all, are only engaged in this operation because Israel invaded Gaza. Settle the Gaza dispute, and the Houthis indicate that they would re-open all shipping in the Red Sea. Last week, the U.S. Air Force carried out 15 strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen. This was exclusively an American operation and represents the ongoing direct strategy of the U.S., which has become a full partner in the Middle East Conflict. Interestingly, the U.S. does not recognize the Houthis as a legitimate national organization and thus does not hold any direct negotiations with them. Any communications between Washington and the Houthis take place in the Yemen Consulate in Saudi Arabia. Earlier in the week, Iran launched a massive missile attack against Israel. By most estimates, Iran employed nearly 200 rockets and missiles. Although most of the targets were Israeli, one was likely aimed at U.S. participation. The Nevatim Airbase is Israel’s largest, most crucial airfield. The Israelis station their American-made, state-of-the-art F35s fighter jets here, many transport planes, other fighters, and even Prime Minister Netanyahu’s official plane. It’s also where American logistics aircraft, like the C-130 Hercules and the C-17A Globemasters, daily offload the armament and munitions to fight this War. It is a critically important supply chain hub. Without Nevatim Airbase and American supplies, the War could not continue for long. National Public Radio, NPR, reports that Nevatim was struck at least 30 times, with at least one major crater in its runway. In the following days, observers saw several F-35s using their STOL, vertical take-off, and landing capability, indicating that the full runway may not be operational. https://www.npr.org/2024/10/04/nx-s1-5140058/satellite-images-dozens-iranian-missiles-struck-near-israeli-air-base Undoubtedly, the principal target for the Iranian missile strike was Israel’s military facilities. However, it is also undeniable that Israel’s logistical partner, the United States, was also a target, indicating that Iran sees this War as a partnership between the U.S. and Israel. And Iran is not alone; increasingly, the international community sees the War as a joint partnership between the United States and Israel. In July, the International Court of Justice ruled in an advisory opinion that the Israeli occupation of Gaza was illegal and should come to an end. Further, they ruled that other nations were obliged to NOT “render aid or assistance” to Israel in maintaining its presence in Gaza. The United States ignores this ruling and continues to supply Israel with its war efforts. https://www.icj-cij.org/node/204176 Two weeks ago, the United Nations overwhelmingly passed a non-binding resolution calling on Israel to withdraw from Palestinian territories. If it fails to do so, the U.N. will apply global sanctions. This followed the U.S. Veto of a U.N. Resolution condemning the violence against civilians in Gaza passed last year. Repeatedly, the United States has been Israel’s protector in the United Nations, vetoing any resolution that would condemn Israel’s actions. So close are Washington and Tel Aviv that President Biden is discussing war strategy, suggesting future Israeli strikes against Iran, for instance. All this, after last week’s missile attack, Iran has now become front and center in Israel’s war plans. This week, the press reported that Biden is discussing whether or not Israel should attack Iranian oil facilities, while he cautioned against attacking Iranian nuclear plants. It indicates a level of planning and cooperation that goes well beyond a mere proxy war, like Ukraine. This war was a partnership in which American leadership and know-how were actively involved in planning and execution. Today, much of the Arab world has lined up against Israel and its senior partner, the United States, from paramilitary groups like the Houthis, Hamas, and Hezbollah to Iran, Lebanon, and Yemen. For many, this is a multi-generational conflict with roots in the decades past. Their memories recall a history of Arab Israeli struggles, as yearly they honor the martyrs of battles long ago. To think that we can step in and solve these issues with a decisive military engagement is naive, and to say nothing arrogant. America is now a highly visible part of this War. We should expect an enemy as resourceful and resilient as this will include us in their future battle plans. ** Follow me here on ThinkSpot for more stories from the ValueSide.
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How Israel Outsources War
David Reavill
 October 01 2024 at 01:09 pm
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Israeli Airforce F16I Sufa, made in the USA Outsourcing is a modern business practice in which a local company uses an external provider to carry out business practices that would otherwise be handled internally. My local bank, for instance, uses Visa to process all its credit and debit cards.** Last Friday, Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s Prime Minister, calmly picked up the secure telephone and ordered Yoav Gallant, the Defense Minister, to attack Hezbollah. He then strode to the podium to address the United Nations General Assembly. It was an amazing piece of theater by Israel’s always-measured and controlled leader. But what was most amazing about this production was the carefully proscribed part Israel played in its production. When Minister Gallant turned to order the I.A.F. Air Force to commence, he was ordering his U.S. trained fighter pilots to board their U.S.-made fighter jets, likely the General Dynamics F-16 Fighter Jet (although the other two I.A.F. Fighter jets are also American, The F-15 and F-35), and then to drop the feared Bunker Buster Bomb, the GBU-28. This bomb was designed during the Second Gulf War, Operation Iraqi Freedom, to take out Saddam Hussein’s underground bunkers. Only two of these bombs were dropped in that war, both with devastating effect. Two more of these 4,000-pound bombs were dropped Friday on Hezbollah’s underground compound, with equal devastation. All of Hezbollah’s leadership, including its General Secretary Hassan Nasrallah, were killed — effectively decapitating the entire Hezbollah leadership. However, while the stage was in Lebanon, and the principal actors were Israeli, much of the production and equipment were “made in the U.S.A.” This did not go unnoticed by all the onlookers who filed past the gaping hole in the ground — while prayers for the dead were heard, there was also the sentiment that this was, in considerable measure, an American production. This type of warfare was impossible before the advent of a global economy. Most of what Israel utilized in this attack, and indeed how the Israeli economy survives, is through “leverage.” This means using other countries’ materials, commodities, and components to assemble a final product. It’s how Israel, a country with few resources and few traditional industries, works. Five years ago, Forbes Magazine described Israel as a “Manufacturing Minnow…But An Industrial Technology Power.” Many considered Israel the model of a new, outsourced economy, which some call “Smart manufacturing.” For these thinkers, Israel had all the benefits of a new economy without the regrettable side effects, like pollution and environmental degradation. However, the reality that the current war with Hezbollah reveals is that Israel has moved those “nasty” manufacturing functions off-shore to the United States, much like the U.S. Has been doing to Asia for the past 50 years. Israel has “outsourced” America’s war-making capability and called it their own. Just the way so much of our new “global economy” does it. Israel’s prowess has been in providing software or component upgrades to existing products. Standout products created by Israeli innovation include self-driving software Mobileye, a G.P.S. app WAZE, and a public transit app MOOVIT. All are valuable “add-ons,” but they fall short of manufacturing the automobiles, buses, and trains that actually provide transportation. In the same sense, Israel has produced “add-ons” to much of its war machinery but not the actual weapons, planes, and tanks themselves. This raised the question: how long could Israel continue any war without the United States' supply of weapons and equipment? Even more pertinent, how long could Israel continue a war without imported oil, chiefly from Turkey? Israel may be far more dependent upon outside energy and resources than its current aggressive posture reveals. Today, Israel Invaded Lebanon For the third time in recent memory, Israel has invaded Lebanon in an effort to take out Hezbollah. Axios reports that a senior Israeli Official has said that this is a short-term tactical operation designed to move Hezbollah back from Northern Israel. “We have no intention of drowning in the Lebanese mud. We will go in and go out at the end. This is a tactical operation that is limited in time and scope,” the official said. https://www.axios.com/2024/10/01/israel-lebanon-hezbollah-middle-east-wars Of course, Israel’s strategy is intimately connected to services and data provided by the United States. Although specifics are highly classified, it’s reasonable to assume that American Geo-positioning services, targeting, weapons, and equipment will be involved. Provider Vulnerability Following this line of thinking, two important points are raised. Each provider presents a potential vulnerability. Israel is totally reliant upon the U.S. to maintain complete silence on any of the data presented to the I.D.F. Any American “leak” would be deadly for the Israeli soldiers. But the reverse is also true. Is it possible that Israel has recently been able to exploit a security leak within the Hezbollah or Hamas outsourcing system? In other words, has Israel exploited other vendor relationships to spy? Beginning in March 2023, Israel has adopted a dramatically new and deadly strategy of taking out the leadership of their enemies. After less than 16 months, Israel has now decapitated the leadership of both Hamas, killing Hamas’ Ismail Haniyeh and now all nine leaders of Hezbollah. It represents both an escalation of the conflict and a remarkable ability of Israel to track these individuals. Many have speculated that MOSSAD, Israel’s chief spy agency, has perhaps infiltrated these groups. Others have speculated that communication devices, such as cell phones and pagers, were compromised somewhere along the supply chain. Either or both of those may turn out to be true. But a third possibility is that Israel has somehow compromised the networks that provide cell, pager, or other services. Conclusion Over the past year, the Middle East has steadily escalated hostilities. In another week, it will be exactly one year since the October 7 attack on Israel by Hamas. Since that time, we’ve seen the near destruction of much of the Gaza Strip, with its countless loss of life. At the same time, Hezbollah, as well as the Houthis, have launched missiles against Israel. Today is one more step in that steady escalation to a major regional war. The question that needs asking, as the chief provider of Israel’s military, will the United States be able to avoid becoming even more involved? ** Follow me here on ThinkSpot for more stories from the ValueSide.
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