Michel Chossudovsky: Israel, A De Facto Member of NATO!

NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen received Israel's president Shimon Peres at NATO headquarters in Brussels on March 7. The order of the day: To enhance military cooperation between Israel and the Atlantic Alliance, focusing on issues of counter terrorism. Israel will be happy to share the knowledge it has gained, and its technological abilities with NATO. Israel has experience in contending with complex situations, and we must strengthen the cooperation, so we can fight global terror together, and assist NATO with the complex threats it faces, including Afghanistan. Israel is already involved in covert operations, and non conventional warfare in liaison with the US and NATO. This agreement is of particular significance, because it deepens the Israeli NATO relationship beyond the so called Mediterranean Dialogue. The joint statement points to an Israel NATO partnership in the fight against terror, and the search for peace, in the Middle East and the world. What this suggests, is the participation of Israel in active theater warfare alongside NATO, ie, as a de facto member of the Atlantic Alliance. In other words, Israel would be directly involved were US NATO to launch an outright military operation against Syria, Lebanon, or Iran. Israel offered to assist NATO in counter terrorism operations directed against Hezbollah and Iran. The two agreed during their discussions, that Israel and NATO are partners in the fight against terror, the statement said. President Peres stressed the need to maintain and increase the cooperation between Israel and NATO, and Israel's ability to cooperation, and provide technological assistance, and knowledge from the vast experience Israel had gained in the field of counter terrorism. Israel will be happy to share the knowledge it has gained , and its technological abilities with NATO. Israel has experience in contending with complex situations, and we must strengthen the cooperation, so we can fight global terror together, and assist NATO with the complex threats it faces, including in Afghanistan, Peres told Rasmussen. It is worth noting that in November 2004 in Brussels, NATO and Israel signed an important bilateral protocol, which paved the way for the holding of joint NATO Israel military exercises. A follow up agreement was signed in March 2005 in Jerusalem, between NATO's Secretary General and Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.