By Nigel Chamberlain, NATO Watch
Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen welcomed the President of Israel, Mr. Shimon Peres, to Brussels on 7 March, “an important partner of the Alliance in the Mediterranean Dialogue”. He added:
We all know the regional situation is complex. But the Mediterranean Dialogue remains a unique multilateral forum, where Israel and six Arab countries can discuss together with European and North American countries common security challenges.
President Peres’s response was not reproduced in text format on the NATO website. He thanked the Secretary General for enabling Israel to participate in the grand struggle against terrorism, adding that NATO is the major instrument that will bring an end to world terrorism. Israel feels part of NATO, if not a member. NATO and Israel share the same values of peace and security and face the same threats. Peres said that: “Terrorism today affects the entire world”.
Although they jointly addressed the media after their meeting, journalists were informed that there would be no questions following the statements by the Secretary General and the President.
According to Israel National News, the President briefed the NATO Secretary General on the strategic threats facing the Middle East, particularly from Iran and Hizbullah. He told reporters:
We are monitoring the ongoing attempts to build up weapons by Hizbullah which is stockpiling weapons and missiles for terrorism and war. Hizbullah is sowing destruction in Lebanon and must be seen as a terrorist organization in every way.
Peres apparently told Rasmussen that Israel would be happy to share the knowledge it has gained and its technological abilities with NATO as “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, who was on an eight-day tour to Brussels, Paris and Strasbourg, focused his efforts on urging the European Union to formally label Hizbullah as a terrorist organization and to build opposition to Iran. Following his meeting with the President of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso, the official Israeli statement read:
Iran is not just a threat to Israel but to the entire world. The coalition being led by the United States of America and Europe to prevent Iran is using economic sanctions which are preferable to the military option. The sanctions have achieved more than was expected but have yet to achieve their aims – and so we must continue and ensure Iran does not become nuclear armed.
Writing in Global Research, Professor Michel Chossudovsky suggests that, as Israel is already involved in covert operations and non-conventional warfare in liaison with the US and NATO, it is a ‘de facto’ member of the Alliance. He asserts that this meeting “deepens the Israel-NATO relationship beyond the so-called Mediterranean Dialogue”, adding that “the text of the Israel NATO agreement following discussions behind closed doors was not made public”.
NATO and Israel signed an important bilateral protocol in Brussels in November 2004 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. The 2005 bilateral military cooperation agreement was viewed by the Israeli military as a means to “enhance Israel’s deterrence capability regarding potential enemies threatening it, mainly Iran and Syria”.
The March 2013 Israel-NATO Brussels bilateral agreement is the culmination of more than ten years of Israel-NATO cooperation. Chossudovsky asks: Does this agreement ‘obligate’ NATO to come to the rescue of Israel under the doctrine of collective security? He asserts that “the agreement tightens the ongoing process of US-NATO-Israel military planning and logistics relating to any future operation in the Middle East including an aerial bombing of Iran’s nuclear plants”.
The Israeli presidential delegation consisted of several top military and government advisers, including Brigadier General Hasson Hasson, Military Secretary to President Peres and Nadav Tamir, the President’s policy advisor.
Israel’s Deputy Head of the National Security Council, Eran Lerman, claims that “Turkey continues to undermine Israel-NATO cooperation and Ankara should be clearly told this hurts the NATO Alliance” and that its “undermining of Israeli participation in NATO was to the alliance’s detriment”.
AFP cited a diplomatic source as having told them that Secretary General Rasmussen had proposed to assist in improving Turkish-Israeli relations in December 2012. Turkey reportedly agrees to Israeli participation in NATO activities despite the tensions caused by the Syrian conflict. The Jerusalem Post quoted sources who say Ankara made the concession to get NATO Patriot missiles on its border with Syria. It was also reported that Israel will participate in a NATO exercise in Turkey later this year.
President Perez’s meeting at NATO HQ comes ahead of US President Barack Obama’s visit to Israel later this month which, apparently, will not be dedicated to resolving a specific policy concern, but will provide an opportunity to discuss a broad range of issues—including Iran, Syria, the situation in the region, and the peace process.