(AP-Washington Post) The Israeli military is gearing up together with U.S. forces for a major missile defense exercise called "Austere Challenge 12," designed to improve defense systems and cooperation between the U.S. and Israeli forces, the Israeli military announced Thursday. The largest-ever joint drill by the two countries will involve thousands of American and Israeli soldiers and test multiple Israeli and U.S. air defense systems against incoming missiles and rockets. Martin Van Creveld, a military historian at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, said the drill was intended also to pressure Iran. "This, among other things, is an exercise to show Iran, the people in Tehran, that Israel and the United States are ready to counterattack."
2012-01-06 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive