Joe Biden Inches Toward War with Iran, Makes Israel Full Military Partner

WILLIAM M. ARKIN

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Preparing for any potential war against Iran, the Biden administration has formally elevated Israel in military planning. Israel's changed status comes as the U.S. military refocuses from the 'war on terror' to potential combat with the big four—China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran.

As Israel has become a full-fledged military partner, the U.S. intelligence community is also putting more emphasis on its Hebrew language program to spy on its number-one Mideast ally.

For the Pentagon, Israel is the most prized military and intelligence partner in the Middle East, with its vast combat experience and advanced technologies. With the end of combat in Afghanistan and Iraq, and with the brokering of the Abraham Accords by the Trump administration, Washington sees an opportunity to incorporate Israel into a new regional alliance. The Accords established diplomatic relations between Israel and several of its Arab neighbors.

"Israel is coming out of the closet, allowed now to openly cooperate with the [U.S.] military while at the same time being denied access to another closet," says a senior intelligence official, referring to the world of American intelligence. The official, who requested anonymity to discuss military planning, says that for some things, such as targeting, exchanges are part of the new military alliance. But where U.S.-Israeli interests might diverge, such as counterintelligence against Israeli spying, or uncovering secrets about Israel's own nuclear arsenal, the United States has redoubled its collection efforts.

President Biden signed a major change of the biennial Unified Command Plan last year, codifying the change in Israel's position in U.S. military planning. The Unified Command Plan is the highest level document that determines every command's area of operations. UCP 2021 shifted Israel to U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), the command responsible for the Middle East from its previous assignment as part of European Command (EUCOM). European Command oversaw the military dimensions of the special relationship, working with the country to defend it in very specific circumstances against its neighbors.

According to the Pentagon, the previous system of special channels outside the Middle East allowed CENTCOM to build a coalition among Arab allies without having the complication of a relationship with Israel—a sworn enemy to many of those countries. But it segregated Israel from formally partnering with CENTCOM and contingency planning against a common enemy.

"CENTCOM will now work to implement the U.S. Government commitment to a holistic approach to regional security and cooperation with our partners," the Tampa-based command said after it was given responsibility over Israel. "The easing of tensions between Israel and its Arab neighbors subsequent to the Abraham Accords has provided a strategic opportunity for the United States to align key partners against shared threats in the Middle East. Israel is a leading strategic partner for the United States, and this will open up additional opportunities for cooperation with our U.S. Central Command partners while maintaining strong cooperation between Israel and our European allies," the Pentagon announced.

US President Joe Biden and Israel's caretaker Prime Minister Yair Lapid sign a security pledge in Jerusalem, on July 14, 2022.MANDEL NGAN/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES

Government sources tell Newsweek that behind the seeming bureaucratic adjustment, the new assignment is the most profound change for the U.S. military since Israel's founding. The hope, some might say pipedream, is to pave the way for a regional military alliance similar to NATO in Europe, not only to prepare for war with Iran but also thwart Russian and Chinese encroachment in the region.

Intelligence on Israel

New status and cooperation notwithstanding, Israel is consistently at the top of U.S. intelligence priorities.

Israel is a world military leader and an expert in many forms of modern warfare—air and missile defense, directed energy weapons such as lasers, and unmanned systems—that the Pentagon perceives are crucial in any future battle. Israel possesses nuclear weapons and has unilateral policies and plans against its adversaries that are of interest to the top decision-makers in Washington. In dealing with Israel, Washington has followed two, sometimes dueling tracks of cooperation and rivalry.

The CIA is responsible for relations with Israel's intelligence agencies—and with collecting information on the Israeli leadership. The U.S. armed forces are responsible for military intelligence on everything from Israel's technology to its capabilities and plans. Within the military, the NSA eavesdrops on Israeli communications—while also cooperating with its Israeli counterparts, who in term spy on its Arab neighbors and Iran.

About 1,000 qualified Hebrew linguists in the U.S. government work on questions related to Israel. Most of these Hebrew linguists have overt functions—in diplomacy, as defense attaches, and liaisons. But about one-third work in intelligence collection and analysis specifically related to spying on Israel. The NSA—responsible for signals intelligence—currently has some 250 Hebrew linguists who translate secure Israel government dispatches, military communications, and highly targeted cell phone traffic. A significant number also monitor and analyze Israeli press, social media and other open source communications in Hebrew. (Hundreds more Hebrew linguists work under contract, both at the NSA and other intelligence agencies, assisting government employees and members of the armed services.)

By 2025, according to intelligence sources, the number of qualified military Hebrew linguists is programmed to double. That number is increasing, according to intelligence documents and government sources, partly to service the increased cooperation.

Hebrew language intelligence training is centered at the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, California, where prospective linguists also learn Jewish and Israeli history, cultural studies, and historical and "modern antisemitism analysis." From there, the eavesdroppers go to Fort Gordon in Augusta, Georgia, where the NSA operates its massive Middle East eavesdropping and analysis center in support of the military. (The most sensitive political intelligence is handled at Ft. Meade in Maryland.) Most Hebrew linguists in the intelligence field are assigned to these two bases, as well as to ship- and air-based collection platforms.

Israel is a difficult country to spy on, not only because of its technical expertise and its routine focus on "operational security" against its neighbors and other adversaries. That means that it practices good communications and cybersecurity discipline and uses sophisticated cryptography in coding its messages. Much of the U.S. intelligence collection effort consequently is focused on micro-targeting of individuals (i.e., their cell phones, computers and other devices) where intelligence can be gleaned from more easily exploitable devices.

"The more that Israel is a credible military opponent of Iran, the very reason for this shake-up, the more that they are also suspect for the very capabilities that we are helping to create and improve," says the senior intelligence official who has worked on the relationship. "This is a case of 'keep your enemies close and your friends closer,'" the official says.

(Israel has consistently denied spying on the United States since relations were soured by the 1985 arrest of Jonathan Pollard, who pleaded guilty of selling military secrets to Israel, but allegations of different forms of espionage have continued over the years.)

Newsweek reached out to the Israeli Defense Forces for comment but had not received a response at time of publication.

Making friends

Only the amicable aspect of the U.S.-Israeli relationship was on show when chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley hosted his counterpart, incoming head of the Israeli General Staff Maj. Gen. Herzi Halevi, at the Pentagon on December 5.

According to the Defense Department readout, the two discussed "coordination to defend against threats posed by Iran" among other issues. The meeting between the two military heads wound up a whirlwind of joint military activities in the past year since President Biden approved Israel's new status, including similar exchanges by high-level commanders, joint exercises and bilateral meetings regarding everything from cyber security to missile defense.

The December meeting followed a Washington visit by Lt. Gen. Aviv Kohavi, current chief Chief of the General Staff of the Israel Defense Forces, where he met with National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan. According to the White House readout of that meeting, their discussions "emphasized their shared determination to address security challenges impacting the Middle East, including the threats posed by Iran and its proxies."

American CENTCOM commander Gen. Michael ("Erik") Kurilla then went to Israel to meet with Kohavi, making his fourth visit in just seven months since he had become commander of CENTCOM. Calling the military alliance "ironclad," Kurilla said that the Middle East "is at the center of America's strategic competition with Russia and China." The true focus for CENTCOM, though, is Iran.

Speaking of Kurilla's visit, Kohavi said that the two countries were "developing joint military capabilities at an accelerated rate" against Tehran. According to the Times of Israel, the military-to-military exchange included discussion of the "joint use of force" against Tehran.

"Our mutual commitment is demonstrated on a weekly basis. We are operating together on all fronts to gather intelligence, neutralize threats, and prepare for various scenarios in either one or multiple arenas," Kohavi was quoted as saying.

As part of Kurilla's visit, he went to Nevatim airbase, which hosts Israel's new wing of American-made F-35i fighter jets, the most advanced in the U.S. arsenal, which the United States has sold to Israel. "Israel maintains a remarkably impressive airpower capability," Kurilla said at Nevatim.

Days after Kurilla's visit, U.S. Air Force and Israeli fighter jets took to the skies above the eastern Mediterranean Sea to practice combined operations. The Air Force package included KC-10 "Extender" aerial refuelers, planes that can extend the range of fighters for long-range strikes. (In March 2020, the State Department approved a possible Foreign Military Sale to Israel of up to eight KC-46 aerial refueling aircraft to give the country its own long-range strike capability.)

General Michael “Erik” Kurilla, commander of U.S. Central Command, made his fourth visit to Israel in mid-November, here visiting the northern border alongside commanding general of the IDF Northern Command, Major General Ori Gordin.U.S. CENTRAL COMMAND

In addition to numerous visits and exchanges by other CENTCOM commanders, additional components of the U.S. military have also accelerated visits and training. The Army has increased air defense cooperation. This includes an updated Juniper Cobra exercise and a new Combined Air Defense Working Group. The Missouri National Guard has a training partnership with Israel. The U.S. and Israeli navies have increased their level of joint training and port visits. In January, the Pentagon's Missile Defense Agency and its Israeli counterpart also conducted a flight test of the jointly developed Arrow 3 missile interceptor. The military exercise Cyber Dome VIi was also held between the two nation's cyber commands earlier this month.

The Ukraine war, in particular, has focused U.S. military attention on missile defense and counter-drone operations, both of which are areas of expertise for the Israel military. This summer, for example, the U.S. and Israeli navies conducted the bilateral exercise called Digital Shield to test out future unmanned "swarming" and artificial intelligence warfare.

Kurilla, formerly commander of the XVIII Airborne Corps, has been a fan of increasing the use of artificial intelligence in warfare. "We can take large pieces of terrain and rapidly identify hundreds of targets, prioritize them based on a high priority target list that determines which ones we should strike with the resources that we have," Kurilla said in May. "... That happens in seconds versus what would take hours normally, or sometimes even days to be able to develop these targets. And it's doing it in real-time at the edge in our command posts and not being tied just back into a garrison computing environment."

As part of its new status, Israel has also participated in a number of multinational exercises, including the American-led Rim of the Pacific 22 exercise in Asia and Global Sentinel 22, a war game focused on space warfare. Neither of those two exercises included any other Mideast nations, though military sources say that such match-ups will soon include both Israel and Arab states as participants.

Bahrain, one of the Arab countries to normalize relations with Israel, has allowed Israeli government and military delegations to visit and work with the U.S. Navy Fifth Fleet, which is based there. Last December, an Israeli government national security delegation arrived in Bahrain to meet at Fifth Fleet headquarters, an unprecedented visit. In March, Fifth Fleet commander Vice Adm. Brad Cooper also hosted Lt. Gen. Kohavi at its headquarters.

The U.S. and Israel navies held Digital Shield in the Gulf of Aqaba in September, focusing on the latest technologies and techniques of unmanned systems and artificial intelligence. Conducted by the new Task Force 59, based in Bahrain, the exercise included Devil Ray T-38 and Saildrone Explorer unmanned surface vessels.U.S. NAVY

Israel as partner

Israel has always been a perplexing country for the U.S. military: in war plans, it was a country to be defended in the case of the big "if" but never acknowledged as such. As a result, Israel was treated as special, different and secret, assigned to a command outside the Middle East. After the Israel-Arab war in 1973, the oil embargo that followed, the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and the Iranian revolution, the idea of creating a special command for the region solidified into a Rapid Deployment Joint Task Force. To help defend U.S. interests in the region, the new Florida-headquartered CENTCOM was set up with President Ronald Reagan's approval in December 1982, but because of the complexities of the region EUCOM retained responsibility for the so-called "confrontation states of Israel, Syria and Lebanon" as well as Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Libya.

That arrangement remained in place until 9/11 and the start of the war on terror, when Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld suggested that Israel, Syria and Lebanon be added to the CENTCOM portfolio. Everyone except the Air Force rejected the idea, arguing that change might influence the "peace process" and that EUCOM and Israel had built a strong working relationship. Overruling the generals and admirals, Rumsfeld came up with an end-run, getting President George W. Bush to agree to move Syria and Lebanon to CENTCOM. Only Israel would stay a part of the European command.

With the end of the war on terror, at least formally, the Joint Chiefs again took on the question of Israel. An African Command had been created and was now responsible for North Africa, leaving Israel as the sole anomaly. What is more, CENTCOM needed relevance in the post-terrorism world of military planning. The discussions were already underway when President Biden took office. Military sources agree that the Abraham Accords facilitated the change, even if the main objective behind the renewed military alliance was focused on Iran.

"Israel brings some very unique capabilities in terms of their military component that they believe they can share with their Arab partners in the region," General Kurilla said in May in his Senate nomination hearing to become the next CENTCOM commander. Kurilla sees a closer military coalition between Israel and the Arab states over Iran. If he and other Pentagon leaders are successful in this goal, a region-wide military alliance will be brought to the Middle East.

"Finally, the U.S. military is openly reaping the benefits of Israel's military prowess and technology," says a Pentagon planner who has been involved in the Israel changes. "Openly ... that's the key word." The United States already deploys logistical support units, radar and an air defense unit in Israel, says the planner, granted anonymity to discuss classified matters. "Next up is more visits and joint training and eventually military bases and then a NATO-like military alliance. All in the name of Iran and Russia and the transition to major war. But will Israel's neighbors go along? Will all of the region unify to prepare for war with Iran? That's the major question."