{"id":1266,"date":"2006-07-22T13:05:41","date_gmt":"2006-07-22T13:05:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/amrani.cc\/wp\/?p=1266"},"modified":"2006-07-22T13:05:41","modified_gmt":"2006-07-22T13:05:41","slug":"2006-7-22-us-speeds-up-bomb-delivery-for-the-israelis-html","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/amrani.cc\/wp\/?p=1266","title":{"rendered":"U.S. speeds up bomb delivery for the Israelis"},"content":{"rendered":"
I just wanna puke…<\/p>\n

NYT: U.S.<\/strong><\/a> Speeds Up Bomb Delivery for the Israelis<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

By DAVID S. CLOUD and HELENE COOPER
WASHINGTON, July 21 \u00e2\u20ac\u201d The Bush administration is rushing a delivery of precision-guided bombs to Israel, which requested the expedited shipment last week after beginning its air campaign against Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, American officials said Friday.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

<\/p>\n

The decision to quickly ship the weapons to Israel was made with relatively little debate within the Bush administration, the officials said. Its disclosure threatens to anger Arab governments and others because of the appearance that the United States is actively aiding the Israeli bombing campaign in a way that could be compared to Iran\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s efforts to arm and resupply Hezbollah.
The munitions that the United States is sending to Israel are part of a multimillion-dollar arms sale package approved last year that Israel is able to draw on as needed, the officials said. But Israel\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s request for expedited delivery of the satellite and laser-guided bombs was described as unusual by some military officers, and as an indication that Israel still had a long list of targets in Lebanon to strike.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Friday that she would head to Israel on Sunday at the beginning of a round of Middle Eastern diplomacy. The original plan was to include a stop to Cairo in her travels, but she did not announce any stops in Arab capitals.
Instead, the meeting of Arab and European envoys planned for Cairo will take place in Italy, Western diplomats said. While Arab governments initially criticized Hezbollah for starting the fight with Israel in Lebanon, discontent is rising in Arab countries over the number of civilian casualties in Lebanon, and the governments have become wary of playing host to Ms. Rice until a cease-fire package is put together.
To hold the meetings in an Arab capital before a diplomatic solution is reached, said Martin S. Indyk, a former American ambassador to Israel, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153would have identified the Arabs as the primary partner of the United States in this project at a time where Hezbollah is accusing the Arab leaders of providing cover for the continuation of Israel\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s military operation.\u00e2\u20ac\ufffd
The decision to stay away from Arab countries for now is a markedly different strategy from the shuttle diplomacy that previous administrations used to mediate in the Middle East. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I have no interest in diplomacy for the sake of returning Lebanon and Israel to the status quo ante,\u00e2\u20ac\ufffd Ms. Rice said Friday. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I could have gotten on a plane and rushed over and started shuttling around, and it wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have been clear what I was shuttling to do.\u00e2\u20ac\ufffd
Before Ms. Rice heads to Israel on Sunday, she will join President Bush at the White House for discussions on the Middle East crisis with two Saudi envoys, Saud al-Faisal, the foreign minister, and Prince Bandar bin Sultan, the secretary general of the National Security Council.
The new American arms shipment to Israel has not been announced publicly, and the officials who described the administration\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s decision to rush the munitions to Israel would discuss it only after being promised anonymity. The officials included employees of two government agencies, and one described the shipment as just one example of a broad array of armaments that the United States has long provided Israel.
One American official said the shipment should not be compared to the kind of an \u00e2\u20ac\u0153emergency resupply\u00e2\u20ac\ufffd of dwindling Israeli stockpiles that was provided during the 1973 Arab-Israeli war, when an American military airlift helped Israel recover from early Arab victories.
David Siegel, a spokesman for the Israeli Embassy in Washington, said: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153We have been using precision-guided munitions in order to neutralize the military capabilities of Hezbollah and to minimize harm to civilians. As a rule, however, we do not comment on Israel\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s defense acquisitions.\u00e2\u20ac\ufffd
Israel\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s need for precision munitions is driven in part by its strategy in Lebanon, which includes destroying hardened underground bunkers where Hezbollah leaders are said to have taken refuge, as well as missile sites and other targets that would be hard to hit without laser and satellite-guided bombs.
Pentagon and military officials declined to describe in detail the size and contents of the shipment to Israel, and they would not say whether the munitions were being shipped by cargo aircraft or some other means. But an arms-sale package approved last year provides authority for Israel to purchase from the United States as many as 100 GBU-28\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s, which are 5,000-pound laser-guided bombs intended to destroy concrete bunkers. The package also provides for selling satellite-guided munitions.
An announcement in 2005 that Israel was eligible to buy the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153bunker buster\u00e2\u20ac\ufffd weapons described the GBU-28 as \u00e2\u20ac\u0153a special weapon that was developed for penetrating hardened command centers located deep underground.\u00e2\u20ac\ufffd The document added, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The Israeli Air Force will use these GBU-28\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s on their F-15 aircraft.\u00e2\u20ac\ufffd
American officials said that once a weapons purchase is approved, it is up to the buyer nation to set up a timetable. But one American official said normal procedures usually do not include rushing deliveries within days of a request. That was done because Israel is a close ally in the midst of hostilities, the official said.
Although Israel had some precision guided bombs in its stockpile when the campaign in Lebanon began, the Israelis may not have taken delivery of all the weapons they were entitled to under the 2005 sale.
Israel said its air force had dropped 23 tons of explosives Wednesday night alone in Beirut, in an effort to penetrate what was believed to be a bunker used by senior Hezbollah officials.
A senior Israeli official said Friday that the attacks to date had degraded Hezbollah\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s military strength by roughly half, but that the campaign could go on for two more weeks or longer. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153We will stay heavily with the air campaign,\u00e2\u20ac\ufffd he said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s no time limit. We will end when we achieve our goals.\u00e2\u20ac\ufffd
The Bush administration announced Thursday a military equipment sale to Saudi Arabia, worth more than $6 billion, a move that may in part have been aimed at deflecting inevitable Arab government anger at the decision to supply Israel with munitions in the event that effort became public.
On Friday, Bush administration officials laid out their plans for the diplomatic strategy that Ms. Rice will pursue. In Rome, the United States will try to hammer out a diplomatic package that will offer Lebanon incentives under the condition that a United Nations resolution, which calls for the disarming of Hezbollah, is implemented.
Diplomats will also try to figure out the details around an eventual international peacekeeping force, and which countries will contribute to it. Germany and Russia have both indicated that they would be willing to contribute forces; Ms. Rice said the United States was unlikely to.
Implicit in the eventual diplomatic package is a cease-fire. But a senior American official said it remained unclear whether, under such a plan, Hezbollah would be asked to retreat from southern Lebanon and commit to a cease-fire, or whether American diplomats might depend on Israel\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s continued bombardment to make Hezbollah\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s acquiescence irrelevant.
Daniel Ayalon, Israel\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s ambassador to Washington, said that Israel would not rule out an international force to police the borders of L
\nebanon and Syria and to patrol southern Lebanon, where Hezbollah has had a stronghold. But he said that Israel was first determined to take out Hezbollah\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s command and control centers and weapons stockpiles.
Thom Shanker contributed reporting for this article<\/em>.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

And to add further insult to the injury…<\/p>\n

Condoleezza Rice has described the plight of Lebanon as a part of the “birth pangs of a new Middle East” and said that Israel should ignore calls for a ceasefire. (Read full story)<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I just wanna puke…<\/p>\n

NYT: U.S.<\/strong><\/a> Speeds Up Bomb Delivery for the Israelis<\/strong><\/a>
\nBy DAVID S. CLOUD and HELENE COOPER
\nWASHINGTON, July 21 \u00e2\u20ac\u201d The Bush administration is rushing a delivery of precision-guided bombs to Israel, which requested the expedited shipment last week after beginning its air campaign against Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, American officials said Friday.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

<\/p>\n

The decision to quickly ship the weapons to Israel was made with relatively little debate within the Bush administration, the officials said. Its disclosure threatens to anger Arab governments and others because of the appearance that the United States is actively aiding the Israeli bombing campaign in a way that could be compared to Iran\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s efforts to arm and resupply Hezbollah.
\nThe munitions that the United States is sending to Israel are part of a multimillion-dollar arms sale package approved last year that Israel is able to draw on as needed, the officials said. But Israel\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s request for expedited delivery of the satellite and laser-guided bombs was described as unusual by some military officers, and as an indication that Israel still had a long list of targets in Lebanon to strike.
\nSecretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Friday that she would head to Israel on Sunday at the beginning of a round of Middle Eastern diplomacy. The original plan was to include a stop to Cairo in her travels, but she did not announce any stops in Arab capitals.
\nInstead, the meeting of Arab and European envoys planned for Cairo will take place in Italy, Western diplomats said. While Arab governments initially criticized Hezbollah for starting the fight with Israel in Lebanon, discontent is rising in Arab countries over the number of civilian casualties in Lebanon, and the governments have become wary of playing host to Ms. Rice until a cease-fire package is put together.
\nTo hold the meetings in an Arab capital before a diplomatic solution is reached, said Martin S. Indyk, a former American ambassador to Israel, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153would have identified the Arabs as the primary partner of the United States in this project at a time where Hezbollah is accusing the Arab leaders of providing cover for the continuation of Israel\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s military operation.\u00e2\u20ac\ufffd
\nThe decision to stay away from Arab countries for now is a markedly different strategy from the shuttle diplomacy that previous administrations used to mediate in the Middle East. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I have no interest in diplomacy for the sake of returning Lebanon and Israel to the status quo ante,\u00e2\u20ac\ufffd Ms. Rice said Friday. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I could have gotten on a plane and rushed over and started shuttling around, and it wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have been clear what I was shuttling to do.\u00e2\u20ac\ufffd
\nBefore Ms. Rice heads to Israel on Sunday, she will join President Bush at the White House for discussions on the Middle East crisis with two Saudi envoys, Saud al-Faisal, the foreign minister, and Prince Bandar bin Sultan, the secretary general of the National Security Council.
\nThe new American arms shipment to Israel has not been announced publicly, and the officials who described the administration\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s decision to rush the munitions to Israel would discuss it only after being promised anonymity. The officials included employees of two government agencies, and one described the shipment as just one example of a broad array of armaments that the United States has long provided Israel.
\nOne American official said the shipment should not be compared to the kind of an \u00e2\u20ac\u0153emergency resupply\u00e2\u20ac\ufffd of dwindling Israeli stockpiles that was provided during the 1973 Arab-Israeli war, when an American military airlift helped Israel recover from early Arab victories.
\nDavid Siegel, a spokesman for the Israeli Embassy in Washington, said: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153We have been using precision-guided munitions in order to neutralize the military capabilities of Hezbollah and to minimize harm to civilians. As a rule, however, we do not comment on Israel\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s defense acquisitions.\u00e2\u20ac\ufffd
\nIsrael\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s need for precision munitions is driven in part by its strategy in Lebanon, which includes destroying hardened underground bunkers where Hezbollah leaders are said to have taken refuge, as well as missile sites and other targets that would be hard to hit without laser and satellite-guided bombs.
\nPentagon and military officials declined to describe in detail the size and contents of the shipment to Israel, and they would not say whether the munitions were being shipped by cargo aircraft or some other means. But an arms-sale package approved last year provides authority for Israel to purchase from the United States as many as 100 GBU-28\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s, which are 5,000-pound laser-guided bombs intended to destroy concrete bunkers. The package also provides for selling satellite-guided munitions.
\nAn announcement in 2005 that Israel was eligible to buy the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153bunker buster\u00e2\u20ac\ufffd weapons described the GBU-28 as \u00e2\u20ac\u0153a special weapon that was developed for penetrating hardened command centers located deep underground.\u00e2\u20ac\ufffd The document added, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The Israeli Air Force will use these GBU-28\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s on their F-15 aircraft.\u00e2\u20ac\ufffd
\nAmerican officials said that once a weapons purchase is approved, it is up to the buyer nation to set up a timetable. But one American official said normal procedures usually do not include rushing deliveries within days of a request. That was done because Israel is a close ally in the midst of hostilities, the official said.
\nAlthough Israel had some precision guided bombs in its stockpile when the campaign in Lebanon began, the Israelis may not have taken delivery of all the weapons they were entitled to under the 2005 sale.
\nIsrael said its air force had dropped 23 tons of explosives Wednesday night alone in Beirut, in an effort to penetrate what was believed to be a bunker used by senior Hezbollah officials.
\nA senior Israeli official said Friday that the attacks to date had degraded Hezbollah\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s military strength by roughly half, but that the campaign could go on for two more weeks or longer. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153We will stay heavily with the air campaign,\u00e2\u20ac\ufffd he said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s no time limit. We will end when we achieve our goals.\u00e2\u20ac\ufffd
\nThe Bush administration announced Thursday a military equipment sale to Saudi Arabia, worth more than $6 billion, a move that may in part have been aimed at deflecting inevitable Arab government anger at the decision to supply Israel with munitions in the event that effort became public.
\nOn Friday, Bush administration officials laid out their plans for the diplomatic strategy that Ms. Rice will pursue. In Rome, the United States will try to hammer out a diplomatic package that will offer Lebanon incentives under the condition that a United Nations resolution, which calls for the disarming of Hezbollah, is implemented.
\nDiplomats will also try to figure out the details around an eventual international peacekeeping force, and which countries will contribute to it. Germany and Russia have both indicated that they would be willing to contribute forces; Ms. Rice said the United States was unlikely to.
\nImplicit in the eventual diplomatic package is a cease-fire. But a senior American official said it remained unclear whether, under such a plan, Hezbollah would be asked to retreat from southern Lebanon and commit to a cease-fire, or whether American diplomats might depend on Israel\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s continued bombardment to make Hezbollah\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s acquiescence irrelevant.
\nDaniel Ayalon, Israel\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s ambassador to Washington, said that Israel would not rule out an international force to police the borders of Lebanon and Syria and to patrol southern Lebanon, where Hezbollah has had a stronghold. But he said that Israel was first determined to take out Hezbollah\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s command and control centers and weapons stockpiles.
\nThom Shanker contributed reporting for this article<\/em>.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

And to add further insult to the injury…<\/p>\n

Condoleezza Rice has described the plight of Lebanon as a part of the “birth pangs of a new Middle East” and said that Israel should ignore calls for a ceasefire. (Read full story)<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4],"tags":[59,30,70,92],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/amrani.cc\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1266"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/amrani.cc\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/amrani.cc\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/amrani.cc\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/amrani.cc\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1266"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/amrani.cc\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1266\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/amrani.cc\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1266"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/amrani.cc\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1266"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/amrani.cc\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1266"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}