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Decreased U.S. Presence in Missile Defense Drill No Sign of Change in Relations

(Jerusalem Post) Yaakov Lappin - Washington's decision to scale down its involvement in an upcoming joint ballistic missile defense drill with Israel is not a sign of change in bilateral relations, a senior Israeli defense source told the Jerusalem Post on Saturday. Time magazine reported on Friday that initially about 5,000 U.S. troops were to participate, but that the number was being pared back to 1,200-1,500. "All of the commentary on this has been wrong. There is no great significance. Nothing has changed," the defense source said, stressing that the drill is still the largest held by the U.S. and Israel to date. U.S. Air Force Lt.-Col. Jack Miller, a Pentagon spokesman, noted that the exercise was initially planned for May, but Israeli defense officials had requested shifting the date until late autumn. "When the exercise was moved, the United States notified Israel that due to concurrent operations, the United States would provide a smaller number of personnel and equipment than originally planned," Miller said.
2012-09-03 00:00:00
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