прикольный амовский взгляд:
A power that outstrips even U.S. in region
Tuesday, April 09, 2002
BY DAVID WOOD
NEWHOUSE NEWS SERVICE
WASHINGTON — There was a time, in the tortured history of Israel and the Arab world, when the United States was the unquestioned military superpower in the Middle East and drew obedient, if grudging, respect from all sides.
No more.
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Now Israel is the region's superpower, and where it once looked to the United States not just for diplomatic support but for military rescue, now Israel can thumb its nose at Washington and go its own way.
Israel can field 19 divisions of ground troops, by some counts; the United States boasts 13 divisions worldwide and would need weeks to move any significant military force into the region.
Israel's air force, which flies souped-up U.S. F-15 and F-16 fighters, can generate nearly 3,000 sorties, or combat missions, per day. The United States can sustain about 1,600 sorties a day. That kind of combat punch has given Israel unprecedented freedom of action, not just against lightly armed Palestinian street fighters, but against its traditional enemies of Syria and Egypt as well.
"We have created an 800-pound gorilla," said Kenneth Brower, an independent military consultant in Washington, assessing decades of U.S. military aid to Israel.
Yesterday, the 11th day of its invasion of Palestinian territories, Israel appeared to respond to U.S. pressure by announcing it would begin withdrawing its troops from two of the six West Bank cities it had occupied, Qalqiliya and Tulkarem, but would maintain a cordon around them. The Israeli defense ministry gave no indication when it would pull out of the other four target cities, where fighting with Palestinian guerrillas continued yesterday.
The United States has given Israel about $3 billion a year for weapons purchases since the late 1970s, and has transferred new or used weapons and military technology for free or at deeply discounted prices under other government programs and commercial arrangements.
In addition, the United States has stored millions of dollars worth of ammunition, fuel, spare parts and even a field hospital in Israel, ostensibly for use by American forces. The agreements under which the equipment was stored in Israel are secret. But most analysts assume Israel has access to the storage sites.
"It's always been said there are 'tripwires' that would permit Israel to use that stuff," said Shoshana Bryen, an analyst for the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs, a think tank in Washington. "My guess is if Israel needed the stuff, they'd get it."
The increase in Israel's combat clout comes less from size than from other, intangible factors. For instance, Israeli technicians have added digital and other improvements to their F-16 fighters, making them even more capable than versions used by the U.S. Air Force, Brower said.
And Israel can fly so many combat sorties per day because it has a huge pool of seasoned combat pilots. That enables its air force t use one aircraft again and again during a 24-hour period while exchanging fatigued pilots for fresh ones. The United States does not maintain as many combat pilots per airplane as Israel.
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