Free Republic

Israeli civilians are unprepared for nonconventional attacks, warned prominent members of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee Tuesday afternoon, blasting the defense establishment for ignoring calls to fix the situation. According to Steinitz, between four million and five million gas mask sets are currently sitting in warehouses awaiting distribution. The Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee has already threatened sanctions against the defense establishment if it does not hand out the equipment.

When President Bush visits Israel next week, he should offer to bring that ally fully into the U.S. missile defense network - a step that might forestall an Israeli attack on Iran this year. Two of the most strategically minded Members of Congress I know - Reps. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) and Jane Harman (D-Calif.) - have enlisted 63 colleagues to urge the move as Bush prepares to commemorate the 60th anniversary of Israel's founding. Specifically, the bipartisan group is calling on Bush to give Israel the advanced X-band radar system that would enable Israel to knock down Iranian missiles early...

The Bush administration has begun delivering more than $3 billion in U.S-made arms to Iraq in a new program to introduce American firepower into Iraq's aging Soviet-based arsenal. When the Pentagon first began building the 320,000-strong Iraq Security Force in 2003, U.S. commanders decided to keep AK-47 rifles and other East Bloc gear. The theory was it would speed the training process since the Iraqis already knew how to use them. Now, however, thinking has changed. Training Iraqis in American M-16 rifles, M-4 carbines and other weapons makes more sense if the U.S. wants to cement a long-lasting security cooperation....