NYDailyNews

How the Israelis Are Helping U.S. Fight Terror War

Israel's contribution to the American war effort already has begun. The Israelis have what the CIA famously lacks: exceptionally good "human intelligence assets."

Since 1991, these sources have concentrated not only on Palestinian terror groups, Syria and Lebanon — all of them possible American targets — but on Iran and Iraq as well. Disclaimers notwithstanding, Israel also has considerable information on Osama Bin Laden. It was from Israel, for example, that news was leaked that Syria has been playing host to Bin Laden's immediate family.

As a general rule, and certainly since Sept. 11, what Israel knows, America knows. Virtually nothing is being withheld. Most intelligence is passed along directly and in full via the American Embassy in Tel Aviv.

In a few cases where highly sensitive data could expose sources, material is summarized for the CIA. But for all practical purposes, Israel's intelligence establishment is now functioning as a branch of the U.S. war effort.

This cooperation exists across a range of subjects. For instance, Shin Bet, Israel's counterintelligence organization, has offered to provide the FBI with operatives who can speak Arabic and Farsi, and can administer and decipher polygraph tests in those languages.

A similar offer was accepted by the French government several years ago after a spate of terror bombings in Paris subways. The FBI, however, is sidestepping a firm answer on the issue by saying it's only interested in U.S. citizens — a category that includes some Israelis.

Joint Training With Americans

Israeli security experts also are consulting with various civil defense agencies in the United States.

On the tactical military level, the U.S. has positioned everything from sleeping bags to Patriot anti-missile batteries and other weapons systems in Israel. During the past few years, American and Israeli pilots have trained together in the skies of the Middle East, and Marines have conducted joint exercises with elite Israeli infantry in the Negev Desert and elsewhere.

The Pentagon is highly cognizant that Israel is America's one truly dependable Middle Eastern ally and certainly the most militarily valuable. It has the region's best army, vast experience in dealing with terrorism and, most importantly, a public that sees the problem through American eyes. Polls show that Israel is the only country, aside from America itself, whose people are ready to go to war.

The State Department, on the other hand, seems to regard Israel as an embarrassment. Diplomats are concerned that Israel's inclusion in the coalition would offend some "moderate" Arab countries that have pro-Bin Laden majorities. Far better to appease the mobs than incite them, they believe, which is why third-rate dictatorships like Egypt are being ardently courted, and feelers have gone out to terrorist states like Syria and Iran.

But when the fighting starts, the decorative State Department coalition will become an irrelevancy, as Arab states duck for cover. Israel, on the other hand, will remain a genuine ally. There is only one kind of strategic cooperation it won't provide: passivity.

Won't Sit Still for Attack

During Desert Storm, the first Bush administration persuaded the Israeli government under Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir to sit still for Iraqi Scud missile attacks. Saddam Hussein hit Israel with 39 missiles, an unfettered aggression that terrorized the public and enraged some political leaders, including Ariel Sharon.

The Israeli assessment is that Iraq still has 10 to 15 missiles. They haven't been well-maintained during the past decade, and their crews are judged to be in a low state of readiness after years of inaction, but it is possible some Iraqi Scuds could once again hit Israeli cities — and that this time the missiles might be fitted with chemical or biological weapons.

If that happens, it is highly unlikely that any amount of American pleading will prevent Prime Minister Sharon — or any sane Israeli leader — from immediate and drastic retaliation.

-- Anonymous, September 26, 2001