Posted on 08/19/2004 12:56:38 PM PDT by burlywood
Urban warfare tactics used in the Gaza Strip are being translated to Iraq
US FORCES fighting in Iraq have been accused of secretly training in Israel, where they have been taught tactics used over the past four years against Palestinian militants in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
A senior Israeli military expert confirmed that elite American troops were regularly trained in Israel.
Tal Tovy, an expert in guerrilla warfare who teaches at Israel?s military staff college, said that US Marines and Army Rangers frequently visited the country on exercise and there was close co-operation on tactics.
He was speaking after The Jerusalem Post reported that some American soldiers serving in Iraq have been trained at the counter-terrorism school in the Adam military base, near Modi?in, outside Jerusalem.
The Israeli Defence Force declined to comment yesterday about co-operation with foreign forces. The American Embassy in Tel Aviv said that from time to time the two countries did conduct joint exercises but denied that there were US forces in Israel at present.
Nevertheless, the allegation will fuel growing suspicions in the Arab world that the Israelis are secretly involved in assisting the Americans in Iraq. The tactics of the two countries? Armed Forces are regularly compared to each other on Arab news channels and in newspapers across the Middle East. this year Brigadier-General Janis Karpinski, the senior American officer embroiled in the scandal about the mistreatment of prisoners at the Abu Ghraib prison, said that she had met an Israeli interrogator at an intelligence base in Baghdad.
The American press suggested that Israeli intelligence officers had established a permanent presence in the northern Kurdish region of Iraq.
It has been repeatedly alleged that US commanders have studied and adopted Israeli tactics, particularly the use of air power and armour against insurgents concealed in heavily populated areas.
Many in the Arab world believe Israel was behind the invasion of Iraq. Among Israelis, however, it is a matter of pride that they are able to share their expertise with their closest ally.
The Israelis are building what is being touted as the largest urban warfare training base in the world at Tzeelim, in the Negev desert, and have offered to rent it out for training to foreign troops.
Dr Tovy told The Times: ?We are very experienced in guerrilla warfare. There are three areas that the Americans have shown particular interest in: the use of Apache helicopters for targeted killings; urban warfare; and how to conduct large military operations in heavily populated areas. We have a lot of experience in this field.?
Dr Tovy said that when he visited the American military academy at West Point he was closely questioned by officers about Israel?s controversial Operation Defensive Shield, the offensive into the West Bank launched in 2002.
Israel?s military tactics, including use of guided missiles to assassinate militant leaders in Gaza and the use of heavy armour in built-up areas, appear to have been replicated by the Americans in Iraq. US fighter jets and helicopter gunships have been used repeatedly to kill suspected militant leaders in the rebel stronghold of Fallujah, west of Baghdad.
Like Israel, America has used tanks and helicopters in densely populated areas such as Sadr City in Baghdad, and now the holy city of Najaf, to take on rebel gunmen. Deploying heavy armour causes civilian casualties but reduces the risk of injury to soldiers.
Using Israeli-style tactics has not only caused anger in the Arab and Muslim worlds. It has also created strains in relations with the British, who have adopted a far less confrontational approach in their sector of southern Iraq.
A British military source said: ?There have been disagreements between American and British commanders in Iraq over tactics. That is one reason the British never went to Baghdad and why the offer to send British troops to Najaf was never taken up.?
British forces have focused on maintaining good relations with the local communities in an attempt to isolate the insurgents. The British tactic has come in for private criticism from American officers and some Iraqis, who have accused the British forces of being too soft. They claim that the failure of the British to impose their authority has created a power vacuum in southern cities such as Basra and al-Amarah that has been exploited by Muslim militants, insurgents and ordinary criminals.
And the problem with this is...
No problem, just thought it made interesting reading.
Gasp!
OH DAMN!
If learning Israeli urban warfare tactics save the lives of some of our troops in Iraq and ultimately makes the mission more efficient and reduces mission time, the US will probably save several billions of dollars.
Will the anti-Israel zealots on FR then concede that our financial support of Israel, which they are always whining about, has yielded a clear dividend?
I'm guessing not.
OK.
Got no problem here, we're all on the saving civlization from the Islamokazi team, aren't we?
Let's hope we put that learning to good use in the field.
Can't think of a better group to train our guys.
I suppose we could have gone looking for anti-terrorist training with the French army, for instance. Our people would learn how to drop their guns and drawers quicker than any other country could teach them. Or of course, the U.S. could do the ridiculous and ask the world's most terrorist-tested army in the world, but that's Irael!
right on bro. I'd much rather go to an auto racing school being taught by Ralph Nader than Mario Andretti.
If you want to fight like the best then you train with the best. duh.
Israel is a TRUE ally, not only among leadership but apparently among a majority of their population. I thank them for helping in defense of America, our men and women, the cause of freedom along with the defense of their own.
Why hasn't Cowpinski been court-martialed yet?
Perhaps you misunderstood my post. Israel has the world's finest anti-terrorist forces because the same Muslims that are now attacking the U.S. have been attacking their much smaller country many years. If you want the best advice go to the best, and let the anti-semites howl - and they will.
What a surprise ! :o)
Perhaps I misunderstood your reply, ss. Sorry, you were replying to someone else! Oh boy, time to get some sleep...:)
Please excuse my ignorance, but you've lost me there... Cowpinski?
sorry..my bad attempt at humor..BG Karpinski..referred to in the article..the commander of the prison..she looks like a cow..
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