Re: Is Israel useful to USA?

On 30 Mar 2006 13:55:47 -0800, apsteam3@xxxxxxxxx wrote:

I have a friend who claims that Israel is of no use to USA, not even
during the Cold War. How do I rebute him?

The MiG-21 (NATO codenamed "Fishbed") was one of the first
Soviet aircraft that the US got from Israel, after some Syrian MiG-21s
mistakenly landed at an airfield the Israelis had just taken during
the 1967 war. Later, the US got the "Foxbat" courtesy of Israel, and
some design details of the MiG-29, which at the time was
unquestionably more than a match for any US fighter in a purely
air-to-air role. There were other intelligence coups where Israel
shared the technological knowledge with the US, such as in the case of
an example of one of the most sophisticated surface-to-air missiles
the USSR had produced being purloined by Israel, again, with them
sharing their info with the US.
The US currently has a cruise missile that flies very low,
using a terrain-following radar, and which is supersonic. It's also
big enough to make an impact on targets the Tomahawk couldn't get at.
The missile, at least while still in development, was called
"HAVENap". It was developed in Israel.
The Arrow anti-ballistic missile is also being developed in
Israel, and again, is being shared with the US. This is what I've
gleaned from reading reliable sources of information, and is by no
means anywhere near a complete list. It's good if you want it for
talking points, and yes, your friend is wrong. I hope your friend's
name isn't Kevin Alfred Strom.
.

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