General Dempsey seeks to reassure Israel on military support
The top US military official has sought to reassure Israel of "unshakable" American military support regardless of whether Washington completes a nuclear deal with Iran.
General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, assured Israeli officials on Tuesday in Tel Aviv that the United States would further strengthen Israel’s arsenal of arms, warplanes and cyber technology.
Dempsey’s visit to Israel is part of the Obama administration’s increasing efforts to end Israel’s opposition to an international nuclear agreement with Iran and also to ease its concerns over increased American sales of weaponry to Arab countries.
Tehran and the P5+1 group – the US, Britain, France, China, Russia, and Germany – reached a framework nuclear agreement in April. The two sides are now working to draw up a final deal by the end of this month.
"If a deal is made... we need to re-engage with them quickly and comprehensively to make that determination," he said.
"It will be incumbent on both of us to make sure that we provide the kind of reassurances that Israel has always counted on us to provide. But we are going to have to do the same thing with the [Persian] Gulf allies," the general added.
"Israel just wants to make sure that we're not just helping them on the qualitative side," Dempsey told reporters in Tel Aviv.
“Israel wants not only to overmatch them in technology, but they realize that there’s a size component to this as well," Dempsey said.
US military officials said that no specific new commitments had been made by America's top general, but that the Pentagon would continue to work with Israel to expand its military.
Dempsey’s support of Israel comes despite deep strains in political relations between Washington and Tel Aviv over the prospect of a possible nuclear deal with Iran and Israel’s stance on the Palestinian statehood.
Last week, US President Barack Obama warned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that his regime is losing “credibility” among the international community over his stance on the creation of a Palestinian state and continued settlement expansion in the occupied territories.
Relations between Obama and Netanyahu have been strained since Obama took office in 2009.
AHT/AGB
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