(Wall Street Journal) Michael Eisenstadt and David Pollock - Israel is helping the U.S. meet the economic, environmental and non-military security challenges of the future. In the realm of cyber security - which the Pentagon says could pose a strategic threat to U.S. infrastructure - Israeli systems secure a significant and growing proportion of U.S. telecommunications, financial transactions, utility and other essential computer-dependent operations. Israeli experts and start-ups regularly partner with U.S. firms to develop applications such as instant messaging, Internet telephony and data-mining. In January, Intel executive Greg Slater noted that the latest "Ivy Bridge" and "Sandy Bridge" microprocessors, which accounted for 40% of Intel revenues in 2011, started in Israel. Each year Israel contributes thousands of skilled professionals, hundreds of joint patent applications, and hundreds of coauthored scientific and technical papers to the U.S. economy. Across the U.S., Israeli firms or their subsidiaries have set up manufacturing plants that employ tens of thousands of Americans. Each year Israel sells the U.S. military about $1.5 billion in advanced items, from specialized munitions to life-saving armor and sensors for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance. U.S. and Israeli manufacturers are now partnering to sell Israeli rocket and missile interceptors to U.S. allies. When the U.S. gives Israel $3 billion in annual military aid, 75% of it comes back to purchase American-made products and services. The writers are fellows at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
2013-03-22 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive