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The U.S. Should Form a Closer Military Alliance with Israel

(TIME) Adm. James Stavridis - Our best military partner in the Middle East, by far, is Israel. The U.S. would be well served to more fully develop its partnership with the Israel Defense Forces in several crucial areas as we stand together facing the challenges of the Middle East. During my time as commander of the U.S. European Command, I had responsibility for developing our shared defensive strategies and tactics, and saw firsthand the quality of Israeli forces. Their military culture and ethos are world-class, honed in the crucible of battle in which they have fought to preserve their nation from many attacks since its creation in 1948. Perhaps the most important area of potential cooperation is in the world of cybersecurity. Israeli intelligence gathering is superb, and the integration of the Israeli military with the nation's robust private-sector security firms is nearly seamless. A second zone of potentially enhanced cooperation is in technology and innovation. Doing more together in advanced avionics (as we did with the F-15), miniaturization (like Israel's small airborne-warning aircraft), and the production of low-cost battlefield unmanned vehicles (both air and surface) would yield strong results. Third, we should up our game in terms of intelligence cooperation. The Israeli intelligence services are the best in the Middle East. We need a more open exchange of information between our two countries, especially human intelligence from Israel and overhead sensor data from the U.S. Finally, having the U.S. Special Operations Command constantly operating with Israeli commandos would be of enormous benefit to both forces. Setting up a joint special-forces training and innovation center for special operations in Israel would be powerful. The motto of the crack Israeli paratrooper brigade translates to "Follow me." The saying stems from the custom of Israeli commanders directly leading their troops into battle, even at the most senior levels. For the U.S. in the Middle East, we would be well served to follow the Israeli military's advice on a range of key issues. Admiral James Stavridis, a former Supreme Allied Commander at NATO, is Dean of the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University.
2017-01-06 00:00:00
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