by Yoav Limor
The reports attested as to the intimate defense relations between Israel and the U.S., which go beyond the exchange of information, to the fact that each party is willing to place its security and the security of any assets on the ground in the other party's hands.
It is a rare occasion
when the public gets a glimpse into covert operations such as the 2008
Damascus assassination of Hezbollah military commander Imad Mughniyeh,
which was, according to The Washington Post and Newsweek, the result of a
secret Israeli-American collaboration.
The details offered by
both reports are mind-boggling: The arguments in Washington; the search
for an advanced, precision explosive device that would eliminate
Mughniyeh but cause little to no collateral damage, and details about
the 25 tests performed until the proper explosive device was found;
transferring the device to Syria via Jordan; the way the lay of the land
was studied and scrutinized, right down to finding the perfect place to
park the car which carried the explosives; and the daily surveillance
of Mughniyeh for over two months, to make sure they knew his every move.
Another astounding
detail revealed by the reports was that the operation that targeted
Mughniyeh, could have also targeted Gen. Qasem Soleimani, commander of
Iran's Quds Force, which is widely considered to be Tehran's black ops
arm, and the man responsible for spreading Iran's evil around the world.
The reports delved into
tactical and strategic details alike, saying that contrary to early
reports suggesting the explosive device was hidden inside the driver's
seat, it was actually planted in the spare tire, and stating that this
was not solely a blue-and-white production, but a blue-and-white and
stars-and-stripes production, and while it was agreed that Israel would
push the proverbial button, it was also agreed that it would not do so
until Washington gave it the green light.
The reports attested as
to the intimate defense relations between Israel and the U.S., which go
beyond the exchange of information, to the fact that each party is
willing to place its security and the security of any assets on the
ground in the other party's hands.
This, of course, is not
the only example of this kind of cooperation. According to foreign
media reports, 2011's Operation Olympic Games, which saw the Stuxnet
virus ravage computer systems at Iran's Natanz nuclear facility,
reportedly destroying roughly a fifth of Iran's nuclear centrifuges by
causing them to spin out of control, was an Israeli-American
collaboration; and according to WikiLeaks, prior to the alleged Israeli
strike on Syria's al-Kibar nuclear facility in 2007, Washington had
assisted Jerusalem is verifying that the target was indeed a nuclear
installation.
The detailed reports,
as well as the fact that they appeared in two major publications
simultaneously, makes one wonder as to any potential motives regarding
their timing. It is possible that this was a belated American desire to
claim credit, or perhaps an attempt to show how when both
administrations get along there is nothing they cannot achieve -- a hint
at the strained relationship Israel and the U.S. are currently
experiencing.
The latter is rather a
flimsy possibility, as chances are these reports have been in the making
for a long time and also because they embarrass not only Israel, but
the U.S. as well: So far, Hezbollah has held Israel solely responsible
for Mughniyeh's death and has vowed to exact revenge accordingly.
Attributing the assassination to a joint Israel-U.S. operation has
potentially placed the U.S. in Hezbollah's crosshairs.
Another issue that
arose from the reports, although in a more minor way, was the orderly
fashion in which Washington green-lights assassinations of this kind,
including meticulous legal counsel throughout the entire process, and
strict do's and don'ts for everyone involved. These operations are never
rushed, and they are always the product of careful thinking and
in-depth planning. The situation in Israel is believed to be similar,
but the volatility of such operations mandate that no one's finger be
quick on the trigger.
Yoav Limor
Source: http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_opinion.php?id=11445
Copyright - Original materials copyright (c) by the authors.
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