Israel and China – Getting Away With Murder
GETTING AWAY WITH MURDER
MID-EAST REALITIES – WASHINGTON – 18 April 2000:
No other country could even attempt to twist and manipulate the United
States as does Israel. But then this is the same country that attached
a U.S. military ship in 1967, killing many, and to this day refuses to
pay up. This is the same country that used an American Jewish U.S.
Navy employee to spy on the U.S.’s most top secret affairs. Indeed,
this is the same country that has given us everything from Deir Yassin
to the Lavon Affair to the Liberty Ship to Jonathan Pollard — and of
course what we don’t yet know is for sure far far more than this.
Now we also know about Israel and China. Having gotten away with
everything else the Israelis assume they can get away with this too.
Indeed, the cowardly and hypocritical Congress of the United States is
also "occupied Israeli territory".
STRANGE BEDFELLOWS: CHINA AND ISRAEL
By Eric S. Margolis
The first-ever visit by a Chinese head of state to Israel last week
seemed at first glance rather curious. China, a longtime political and
military supporter of the Arabs and Iran, used to denounce Israel as a
`running dog of US imperialism’ and `a racist-fascist state?’ So what
was President Jiang Zemin doing hobnobbing in Israel?
Jiang had two objectives: a. deepen the secret 20-year military
relationship between China and Israel; b. by openly befriending Israel,
counteract growing anti-Chinese feeling in Congress that threatens both
China’s exports to the US, and its admission to the World Trade
Organization. . .
The normally pro-Israeli Clinton Administration, however, is not
pleased. William Cohen, the US Secretary of Defense, recently unleashed
an unprecedented public blast at Israel for selling advanced military
technology to China that could threaten American forces in the event of
a clash with China over Taiwan.
Cohen demanded Israel cancel the US $1-2 billion sale of 3-5 AWACS
airborne radar aircraft to China. Israel refused, though it may only
sell China one of the Russian aircraft equipped with an Israeli
`Phalcon’ advanced radar/electronic warfare system, developed from the
US `Hawkeye’ AWACS system, at least until the heat subsides
Former CIA Director James Woolsey testified Israel has covertly sold
`several billions’ of dollars worth of top-secret US technology to
Israel since 1983. The Inspector General of the US State Department
found, in a 1992 report, a `systematic and growing pattern’ of Israel
selling American military technology in direct violation of US law.
That report concluded Israel was supplying arms based on restricted
American technology to China, Chile, Ethiopia, and South Africa, all of
whom then under US arms embargo.
The Pentagon has claimed since the mid-1980′s that Israel simply copies
or reverse engineers secret US defense technology and then exports it –
even on occasion, its is whispered, to Russia. Until now, Israel’s
influential friends on Capital Hill managed to downplay or cover up
these serious charges.
The transfer of billions worth of advanced US military technology to
Israel, under the innocuous title of `Technical Data Packages,’ was
arranged by Israel’s American supporters, beginning in 1970. This
massive infusion of secret US weapons and electronics technology- the
largest ever to another nation – allowed Israel to develop state-of-the
art military industries that exported some $1.5-2 billion annually (40%
of its total exports by the late 1980′s), and which became the nation’s
largest employer. Israel is now the world’s sixth largest arms exporter.
In somecases, Israel improved on US weapons and electronics systems.
Pentagon sources charge Israel `backdoored’ US technology to China for
the Patriot AA missile, other surface-to-air missiles; the PL-8
air-to-air missiles; C-802 anti-ship missiles; advanced composite tank
armor and tank guns; aircraft avionics and ground radar systems; and the
J-10 fighter, which is based on secret US technology used in Israel’s
cancelled `Lavi’ fighter. Israel denies these charges. A Pentagon
investigation of the Patriot sale, cleared Israel. Critics charged it
did so under intense political pressure from Israel’s supporters.
Israel insists its high-tech arms exports are all 100% of Israeli
origin. But American defense claim the Israelis often only make minor
modifications to basic US-supplied technology and weapons, then sell
them clandestinely.
Israeli intelligence agents are known to have targeted specific advanced
US defense technology.
Israel has also sold considerable quantities of arms, electronics, and
US technology to Taiwan, including a reverse-engineered US Lance
missile, and anti-ship missiles. Singapore is another major recipient of
Israeli arms and discreetly co-produces weapons with Israel. Israel has
become a major military supplier to India, including nuclear weapons and
missile technology.
Ironically, some of Israel’s arms and technology sales have returned to
haunt the Jewish state. This column learned in 1994 that nuclear
technology Israel had bartered for enriched uranium to South Africa, was
resold by South Africa to Iraq in exchange for oil. Iraq’s infant
nuclear program, designed as a counter-force to Israel’s nuclear arms,
thus originated, in part, from Israel. Missile technology sold by
Israel to China found its way into tactical missiles sold by China to
Iran, Syria, and Iraq, and, reportedly, into CSS-2 ballistic missiles
sold by China to Saudi Arabia.
American defense and state department officials are furious at Israel
for so flagrantly violating the US embargo of high-tech arms to China,
particularly as tensions between Washington and Beijing rise. There
have even been angry demands in Congress for the value of the Israeli
AWACS aircraft sold to China to be deducted from the $3-5 billion in aid
Israel receives annually from the US. Fears are being expressed that US
technology for Israel’s new `Arrow’ anti-missile system, developed with
nearly $1 billion in US aid, may also be sold to China.
Israelis claim their weapons sales to China motivate Beijing to keep a
leash on its ally, North Korea, which, says Israelis, ships missiles to
Iran and the Arabs. Russia remains China’s main arms supplier. Sales
by Israel keep Russia and China apart, say Israeli partisans. Nonsense,
retorts the Pentagon. But in an election year, New York City is far more
important than China. So Israel will probably only get its wrists
slapped – if that.
`WAR AT THE TOP OF THE WORLD – The Struggle for Afghanistan, Kashmir,
and Tibet’ by Eric S. Margolis is now available in bookstores.
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